Monday Escape: Negombo, Sri Lanka
With Dutch canals, golden beaches, international schools and a location close to the airport, you can’t go wrong living in Negombo, Sri Lanka. Although it’s only around 40km from Sri Lanka’s biggest city, Colombo, this beach town of only around 65,000 is comfortable and quiet enough without ever getting boring.
Though the economy of the town is mostly based on tourism, it has a centuries-old fishing industry, as well as being a producer of cinnamon and ceramics. Located on the shores of Negombo Lagoon, the town was a crucial trading port during Dutch and Portuguese colonization. The Dutch built a network of canals that are about 100-km long, and they are still plied daily by outrigger canoes and modern watercraft.
Diving is a popular activity in Negombo, as it boasts several well preserved coral reefs, including a 50 year old shipwreck which serves as an artificial reef and is home to hundreds of varieties of fish and sea life.
The religious culture here may be more familiar to Westerners than much of the rest of Sri Lanka, as it is home to a majority of Roman Catholics despite the fact that Sri Lankans elsewhere are mostly Buddhists or Hindus. Although you can still expect to encounter the full range of the country’s religious and cultural heritage in Negombo.
Fuel your wanderlust by scanning some of the beautiful, available real estate in Negombo at LankaPropertyWeb.