sri-lanka-13-full-pdf-ebook.pdf

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They’re a fine sight as they sweep home into
the lagoon after a fishing trip. Fish auctions
on the beach and sales at the fish market
near the fort are a slippery and very smelly
sight, but one that’s well worth forgoing
some swimming pool time for.
The catch is not all from the open sea:
Negombo is at the northern end of a lagoon
that is renowned for its lobsters, crabs and
prawns. Across the lagoon bridge there’s
a second fish market (map p 87 ). If you can
stagger out of bed at 6am, it’s a good place to
watch much bigger fishing boats return with
their catches.

Beach BEACH
(map p88) Even though it could never com-
pete in a beauty contest against many Sri
Lankan beaches, Negombo’s beach, which
stretches north from the town right along
the hotel strip before fading into a palm-tree
distance, has been recently tidied up and, in
front of the big hotels, is now quite pleasant.
Sadly, the water does have a distinct brown
colour thanks to estuary run-off and pollu-
tion, but it’s no longer bad enough to stop
people swimming.
Foreign tourists can often access the
beach in front of most big hotels even if
you’re not staying, but for a more colourful
(and noisier) scene join the locals at what is
known as Negombo Beach Park (map p88).

Religious Buildings RELI gIoUS
(map p 87 ) Negombo is dotted with churches,
and so many locals converted to Catholi-
cism that the town is sometimes known as
‘Little Rome’. The fading pink chamber of
St Mary’s Church, in the town centre, has

some thunderous ceiling paintings covering

the nave. East of town the Angurukara-

mulla Temple, with its 6m-long reclining

Buddha, is also worth seeing. The island

of Duwa, joined to Negombo by the lagoon

bridge, is famed for its Easter passion play.

Canals CANALS

The Dutch showed their love of canals here

like nowhere else in Sri Lanka. Canals extend

from Negombo all the way south to Colom-

bo and north to Puttalam, a total distance of

over 120km. You can hire a bicycle in Negom-

bo from various hotels and ride the canal-side

paths for some distance, enjoying the views

and small villages along the way.

2 Activities

Colombo Divers DIvINg

(map p88; %077 736 7776; http://www.colombodivers.

com; Jetwing Blue, Ethukala) The waters around

Negombo offer much better diving than

many people imagine, and this regarded

agency, inside the Jetwing Blue hotel, can

take you to meet the fish at more than 40

different dive sites. They charge US$100 for a

Discover Scuba course and US$450 for a full

PADI open water course.

Kite Centre Negombo EXTREmE SPoRTS

(map p88; %492 7744; The Pearl, 13 Porutota Rd)

Want to skim like a flying fish over the sur-

face of the ocean? Kitesurfing courses using

decent equipment and run by experienced

surfers are available through the Kite Centre

Negombo based inside the Pearl guesthouse

(p89). A three-day course costs €340 or one

short hour is €49.

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