Galle Face Green

Sri Lanka, being an island, is known for her amazing beaches and views of the sea. However, in Colombo, it isn’t always easy to find a place where you can enjoy the crashing of the waves and most of all, an undisturbed view of the sunset. Galle Face Green thus attracts a large number of people, especially during the evening, although it is rarely empty, even in the afternoon when there is very little shelter from the scorching sun.
Galle Face Green is a half kilometer promenade in the heart of Colombo and was initially laid out in 1859 by Sir Henry Ward, Governor of British Ceylon. The stretch of land was used for horse racing and golf and was known as the Colpetty Race Course.
Today, Galle Face Green is a favorite place for families, children, lovers and picnickers. While the hot sun makes carrying around an umbrella a must and the crows are a nuisance, it is still a beautiful place to relax, enjoy the beach and have meals. There is enough space to walk around, sit and even fly kites. During the kite season, the skies over Galle Face Green are hidden behind the colorful kites that bring joy to the young and old. Those who enjoy people watching will be able to do a lot of observing at Galle Face Green, as it attracts people of various cultures, ethnicities and ages.
There are many stalls along the beach and they offer food, drinks, kites, toys, trinkets and many other goodies. The variety of wadey (a popular fried snack) like those with prawns (isso wadey) are sold at low prices and the achcharu (pickle) is always perfectly sweet and spicy. It is advisable to first walk along the strip of kiosks to know the variety of food and drink before making a purchase. However, if you are worried about the sanitary conditions of these stalls, there are many restaurants close by where you could enjoy a meal.
Galle Face Hotel, The Kingsburry, Galadari Hotel, Taj Samudra Colombo and Hilton Colombo are all within walking distance. The Dutch Hospital is also in the area and there are many restaurants where one can enjoy a meal and the restaurants offer various cuisines so there are many options to choose from. Three wheelers and buses constantly go past Galle Face Green, so you won’t have your options limited to restaurants that are close to the promenade and you can also enjoy the thrilling experience of traveling by tuktuk or bus.

A Travellers Blog
The famous beach facing open space between the old Colonial Ceylon Parliament building now used as the Presidential Secretariat Building and the elegant colonial Colombo Galle Face Hotel is known as Galle Face. The sand coloured hotel to the left is the Ceylon Inter-Continental Hotel.
Every evening families gather to play, eat, paddle in the sea and watch the sun set over the Indian Ocean. The crowds attract food stalls and toy kite sellers. It is a delightful location to mingle with local people and end a days sight seeing in Colombo. Galle is pronounced GAUL as in the old Celtic name for France. It is the name of the ancient Portuguese port in the south of Sri Lanka.
The area now known as Galle Face Green was previously a marsh. The British Governor of Colonial Ceylon, Sir Henry Ward, authorised the land to be turned into a green usable open space in 1856. He wanted to introduce some of the pleasures he and his staff enjoyed back in Britain.
A sea front promenade was constructed to enable the wealthy to exercise their horses and take in the sea air, The Colpitty Horse Racing Course was built. It covered a larger area than that taken up by the 5 hectare Galle Face Green today.
In the middle was a golf course. Like many other British Sports like cricket, polo, football, hockey and rugby, golf gained popularity in Sri Lanka first when it was played on Galle Face Green. Gentlemen would play in long trousers, cotton shirts with collars buttoned up to the neck sporting a club or regimental tie under a jacket. A sun hat was a must. They must have got very hot. Later this dress code was relaxed to prevent players collapsing with heat stroke.
The open green space of Galle Face is about 1/2 km long. Depending on what time of the year it is the green space can seem more brown and dusty caused by the lack of rain. It is the biggest open public space in the congested capital city. It is busy every day of the week but it is very popular at the weekends when more office workers can come out with their families to enjoy the outdoors. It is also a favourite venue for courting couple on a date. They can walk hand in hand along the promenade or try to find a bit of privacy on the beach to kiss.
There are many brightly coloured food stalls along the promenade. Cold drinks, ice cream and cut up fruit vendors are very numerous. Look out for a Galle Face Green speciality, the prawn Wades known as Isso Wade. There are many different types of take away curries available to buy. To keep costs down many family groups bring their own food and set up picnics on the grass. Because of the constant breeze coming in from the Indian Ocean kite flying is a popular sport. If you are on holiday with children, buy a cheap kite from one of the many stalls and see how high you can fly your kite.
What I found strange was the amount of people on the beach paddling in the water fully clothed. Many of the Muslim girls where up to their chest wearing full black burqas. That is understandable for religious grounds but not for the others. Like in Italy people put on their best clothes to go for a promenade along the Indian ocean seafront. They like to see and be seen by others. There are some exquisite saris on show. Having explored this delightful open space end your evening with cocktails at the Galle Face Hotel sunset patio and watch the sun slide into the Indian Ocean. A Gin and Tonic and Lion Beer helps pass the time. Get there early to reserve a good seat.