Galle and Dutch Heritage 3-Day Tour

Galle Fort was begun by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century and rebuilt on a far grander scale by the Dutch after they took the town in 1640. Today its walls enclose a living neighbourhood where families, artists and shopkeepers occupy colonial-era houses with deep verandas. A slow walk takes in the lighthouse, the Dutch Reformed Church with its floor of old gravestones, the Old Gate bearing the VOC emblem and the National Maritime Museum, housed in a former Dutch warehouse.

The second day follows the coastline north, past Hikkaduwa and the mask-carving town of Ambalangoda, to the Madu River, where a boat glides through mangrove channels and past small islands with temples and cinnamon gardens. Bentota rounds things off with Lunuganga, the country estate of the architect Geoffrey Bawa, and his brother Bevis Bawa’s Brief Garden nearby.

It is an easy pace with short drives, ideal as a coastal extension or a gentle start to a longer journey.

The route, pace and choice of hotels are shaped around you, and nothing is reserved until you are happy with the plan and have confirmed it.

Day 1 – Galle: Walk the Fort's ramparts, lanes and churches, ending at the Flag Rock bastion for sunset.
Day 2 – Madu River & Bentota: Drive north via Ambalangoda's mask workshops, take a boat on the Madu River and continue to Bentota (about 1.5 hours of driving).
Day 3 – Bentota: Tour Geoffrey Bawa's Lunuganga estate or the Brief Garden, then relax by the river or beach before the tour ends.