It is the most
easily accessible and one of the most remarkable hotspots in travelling. The
ancient city of Galle is so popular because of the Dutch fort surrounding
magnificent buildings dated back in the sixteen hundreds. If you are interested
in the architecture, photography and the sea breeze all together, there is no
place else than the Galle Fort.
Thanks to the
Southern Expressway, you can reach Galle in one and half hours. However, we
decided to take our same old Galle Road and the plan was to use the highway for
the return journey. If you are getting there by bus, the final stopping point
of the bus is near the fort. When you entered through the ancient, but still strong stone
walls, you will find yourself in a place like in Hollywood movies. There are enormous numbers
of alleys connected together making a network. The best way is to take one of
the alleys leading to the right and get to the clock tower and circle along the
fort.
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Entrance to the Fort
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There is a
staircase leading to the outer part of the fort and it is a vantage point to
view the entire city of Galle on one side and the breath-taking ocean on the
other. You can walk along the outer fort all the way near to the lighthouse
standing almost on the opposite side of the outer fort. On the way you will
come across great shooting angles of the ocean which is as blue and clear as
the sky above. There are even places where you can scale down the fort and dip
into the sea. It is advisable to do this only when the sea is calm as there were
no lifeguards present around the vicinity.
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| View of one of the land sides |
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| Scenic view from the Fort |
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| Scenic view from the Fort 2 |
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| Lighthouse |
Walk along the
outer fort will have to be discontinued at the lighthouse and you can take any
of the many alleys leading to whatever place you want to be. The buildings and
the surroundings are so beautiful you may not want to leave the place in a hurry.
Other important hangout you must visit is the Marine museum and Dutch museum. The
latter is a privately owned one but the entrance is free. The former requires
500/= to 625/= if you are a foreigner.
The Dutch Museum
consists of various types of pottery, cutlery, ancient utensils, stones,
weapons and even there are people doing old deeds such as knitting using Beeralu. The other museum is the Marine
museum which is a state owned one and
the building itself is over 300 years old where it was a warehouse during the
Dutch period. If you are interested in history, there are detailed descriptions
on the artefacts. Another magnificent
building we came across was the All Saints Church. It is also more than 300
years old building but standing tall against all the other buildings like it is
the god that serves the others.
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| Traditional crafts (live in action) - Dutch Museum |
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| A Raft (Marine Museum) |
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| Replica of an ancient ship. A cross section of it's hull lies nearby (Marine Museum) |
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Bodhisathwa statue (Marine Museum)
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Apart from that,
the place is full of souvenir shops and dining places. The target customers are
the foreigners in most of these businesses. Therefore, the price of the
products/services offered is a little bit on the higher side J
