Galle - General Information
Galle District in Southern Province is one of the most popular and important tourism areas of Sri Lanka. The district is situated between the Indian Ocean and three districts – Kalutara, Ratnapura and Matara and contains many modern tourist facilities for travelers.
The Galle town is located 116km far from the commercial capital of Colombo. Total area extent of the district is 1652 sq. km (637.8 sq.miles) and land area is 1617 sq.km (624.3 sq.miles) and the rest is covered with water.
In 1505, the Portuguese captain, Don Lorenzo de Almeida accidentally landed in Galle having had his sailing vessel caught in a gale. As a result of that journey, the foreign occupations were established in the coastal areas. There are lots of historical monuments in Fort of Galle and resorts in Hikkaduwa and Bentota areas. Fort of Galle, the “walled city” has stood since the early 16th century has been identified as a “world heritage site” by UNESCO.
The Galle district receives rain during the south-west monsoon and this area belongs to the wet zone of the low country. For the purposes of administration of Galle, it has been divided into 17 divisional secretary areas. The population of Galle is 1,00,0000 approximately. There is no a particular area for any nation. The majority of population is Sinhala (72.71%) and other groups are Muslims (25.56%), Tamil (1.09%) and Burgers (0.64%).
In 1505, the Portuguese captain, Don Lorenzo de Almeida accidentally landed in Galle having had his sailing vessel caught in a gale. As a result of that journey, the foreign occupations were established in the coastal areas. There are lots of historical monuments in Fort of Galle and resorts in Hikkaduwa and Bentota areas. Fort of Galle, the “walled city” has stood since the early 16th century has been identified as a “world heritage site” by UNESCO.
The Galle district receives rain during the south-west monsoon and this area belongs to the wet zone of the low country. For the purposes of administration of Galle, it has been divided into 17 divisional secretary areas. The population of Galle is 1,00,0000 approximately. There is no a particular area for any nation. The majority of population is Sinhala (72.71%) and other groups are Muslims (25.56%), Tamil (1.09%) and Burgers (0.64%).
The southern coastal belt is the most popular among the tourists and comes to life mainly from October through April when the monsoon moves northeast and the sea becomes calm with blue skies. The earliest European administrative centre of Sri Lanka was the major port and the largest city until the British shifted the port to Colombo. The City of Galle had been the European administrative centre over 4 centuries.
