Exploring Galle Fort

Rows of houses with their narrow sides facing the streets and verandas shaded by high overhanging roofs supported on slender columns create distinctive streetscapes. … an architecture which is European only in its basic design.

UNESCO World Heritage Site listing

Galle Fort is not only, as the name suggests, a fortification; it holds within its ramparts a beautifully preserved/restored colonial town. It has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as:

an outstanding example of an urban ensemble which illustrates the interaction of European architecture and South Asian traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

ibid

The town was founded by the Portuguese, then extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century. Later it became the southern headquarters of the British colonial rule. The British made several modifications, including removing the moat and building a lighthouse. Despite these, and later changes during WWII, it retains much of the structure built by the Dutch in particular.

The old town is still today encircled by a three-kilometre ring of massive granite and coral ramparts, broken up at intervals by fourteen bastions in various states of preservation. Within these walls its charming streets are lined with hotels, restaurants and shops aimed at the town’s many visitors. But it is also still home to a diverse population of Sri Lankan Moors (descendants of the Arabs who settled here to trade), Sinhalese, Dutch, English, Portuguese and German settlers. It is popular with ex-pat artists, writers, photographers, designers and poets who find a market for their creative flair in the smart boutiques and galleries.

The ramparts

We’d set aside a whole day to explore Galle on our own, staying in one of the hotels within the fort. We started our explorations with a walk on part of the ramparts, with views out to sea.

Views from the ramparts

Looking inland we enjoyed watching some youngsters playing cricket (a national obsession in Sri Lanka) and enjoyed views across the town.

Cricket game with the town beyond

We passed the remains of Lloyds Naval Signal Station on Clippenburg Bastion. The bastion is one of the fourteen built by the Dutch, while the signal station was added by the British.

We’d intended to walk some distance further on the ramparts, but they were exposed to the already very hot sun. So we descended after a bit and sat for a while over cold drinks in a café attached to a hotel near the clock tower.

The tower was a British addition, built in 1883 to commemorate the jubilee of Queen Victoria. After our drinks we climbed back to the ramparts at this point. This took us to another of the bastions, the Moon Bastion, the site of the former guard room. There are sculptures here depicting the soldiers who used to guard the ramparts.

Clock Tower and sculptures on the ascent to Moon Bastion

The Moon Bastion offers a great view over Galle’s famous cricket ground just outside the fort. Descending from it we turned away from the ramparts into the old town. Although busy with tourists, locals were also to be found, most of them focused on tourist-focused businesses. As in Kandy I spotted several grinding gemstones for sale in the many up-market jewellery shops. Most of the shops are equally up-market and the restaurants on the whole are similar; this isn’t really a place for the budget-conscious! The beautiful red sign below was outside a spa and the crab near a seafood restaurant.

In Galle Fort

Groote Kerk

We followed Lighthouse Street and Middle Street to arrive at the Dutch Church. Also known as ‘Groote Kerk’ (meaning Grand Church), this Dutch protestant church was completed in 1755. It is fairly plain inside apart from the colourful stained-glass windows. The floors and walls are filled with elaborate grave markers from both the Dutch and British eras, some of which are decorated with a skull and crossbones.

Groote Kerk

Just inside the door on the left (photo bottom right in my gallery above) is an interesting carved wooden memorial. It is dedicated to Abraham Samland, a former Commander of Galle. The ornate display features colonial-era military emblems, including weapons, a helmet, and a central white garment.

Leaving the church we followed the ramparts at street level for a short distance. There was a snake charmer trying to charm money out of passing tourists while also charming his snakes. I took my photo from a distance, not to avoid the snakes (I rather like them and felt sorry for them in captivity here) but to avoid paying him and encouraging the practice.

We then turned back down Lighthouse Street to its southern end and our hotel, finding more appealing photo opportunities as we went. I can rarely resist an ochre coloured wall!

Galle Fort details

The window in the gallery above is part of a large property near our hotel which was up for sale. We speculated about what a potentially great investment it could be for someone prepared, and able, to do the work to bring it up to the quality of others in the fort. It could make a beautiful boutique hotel plus restaurant. As a bonus it also had a large garden; we could just imagine tourists sitting out there over a leisurely breakfast or gourmet dinner!

After a break back at our hotel to cool off, followed by a refreshing ice cream at a nearby café (did I mention that it was very hot?!) we set out to explore further.

The Dutch Hospital

We walked further up Church Street, then followed Pedlar Street to the Old Dutch Hospital. This was built by the Dutch to look after the health of officers and other staff serving under the Dutch East India Company. Under the British it was extended and became a military barracks and after independence served as Galle’s town hall. Today it is home to an arcade of shops.

We wandered around the immediate area taking photos. Galle has that appealing (to a photographer) combination of beautiful architecture with signs of dilapidation and decay.

More Galle Fort details

Back at the Old Dutch Hospital we checked a few of the rather pricey shops but didn’t buy anything as the most attractive items were either impractical to pack, too expensive for a holiday souvenir, or both. We then became distracted by the welcoming look of the Tap House bar at the end of the arcade, which seemed to blend Sri Lankan and UK pub style, so we stopped off for a drink. My passionfruit mocktail was delicious, and we enjoyed watching a bit of the T20 World Cup while there.

In the Tap House

We next walked along to the lighthouse, spotting a beautiful White-throated Kingfisher on the way. He posed beautifully for us!

White-throated Kingfisher

Established in the 1840s by the British, this is the oldest lighthouse in Sri Lanka. However the original building was destroyed by fire so this is a reconstruction completed in 1939.

The lighthouse

Nearby is Meeran Mosque. This mosque is very unusual to look at as it has the style of a colonial church. The only giveaways are the Arabic writing and small crescent moon designs on the façade, and the crescent moons on the towers. As I mentioned, there is a significant Muslim population in Galle Fort, historically linked to the Arab traders and merchants who settled in the area. There is some evidence of a mosque located on this site as long ago as the 1790s, although the current structure dates back just to 1904.

This was our last stop of the day as the cool of our hotel was calling to us again. However we had time the following morning, before leaving Galle, to take a short walk along this south west corner of the ramparts with views towards Triton Di Silvar Bastion. So I’ll finish this Monday Walk with an image taken there, to bring us full circle.

I visited Galle in February 2026