7 Hidden Gems in Colombo

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Past Galle Face, Gangaramaya, and the National Museum, here are seven Colombo spots that don’t make most first-timer lists but reward the extra half-hour.

1. Wolvendaal Church

Built in 1749, this is the oldest active Protestant church in the city, sitting quietly on the edge of the Pettah bazaar. Dutch colonial gravestones and a genuinely old wooden interior, with almost none of Pettah’s crowds.

2. Dutch Period Museum

A quiet colonial-artifact museum in Pettah, housed in a 1690s governor’s house. A calmer counterpoint to the National Museum if you want the Dutch-era history without the crowds.

3. Old and New Kathiresan Kovils

The Hindu temples on the edge of Pettah dedicated to Murugan/Skanda mark the start of the Vel festival procession each year. Worth a look even outside festival season for the temple architecture itself.

4. Marine Drive

A roughly 7.4km coastal road running from Kollupitiya to Dehiwala, best walked or driven at sunset. Less crowded than Galle Face Green and a genuine local commuting road rather than a tourist promenade.

Barbara Sansoni’s textile, art, and café institution in Colombo 3, with Sunday live jazz. A slow, low-key afternoon rather than a checklist stop.

6. Colombo Racecourse

Racing was banned here in 1956, and the old racecourse grounds are now a curiosity more than a destination: worth a look if you’re already in the area and want a “here’s what happened to it” kind of stop.

7. Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara

About 10km northeast, this temple is said to have been visited by the Buddha himself and holds Solias Mendis’s well-known murals. It’s an easy add-on for anyone willing to go slightly outside the core, and far less crowded than Gangaramaya.

Getting around

There’s no Grab in Sri Lanka; PickMe is the dominant app, including tuk-tuks, with Uber also covering these areas. At Kathiresan Kovils or Kelaniya, the same temple etiquette applies as anywhere else: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off, and never pose with your back to a Buddha image.

Read more: the main Colombo guide has the core first-timer sights, and the photo spots guide covers where to shoot several of these.