Negombo, a quiet and peaceful town, located on the West shore of Sri Lanka, is famous not only for its pristine natural beauty, but also by man-made sights that are true mainly to cultivated religious character. The development of the city was greatly influenced by the period of colonization, during which, the city passed from the Portuguese to the Dutch men, from the Dutch to the British and in the end turned out to be in possession of those who were originally selected - from Singalov. All this left its bright track on the Negombo architecture. But however, about everything in order.
- by virtue of some circumstances, me and not understandable, but the visiting card of the city is considered poorly preserved Dutch Fort built by the first colonists of this region in the second half of the 17th century. All would be good, but only at the beginning of the 19th century, Fort was destroyed by the British, who decided to build a prison in his place, acting by the way to this day. From the Fort itself at the moment only the tower, a few walls and gates, followed by people who are serving a sentence in a local prison.
- Church of St. Sebastian
A place that is impossible not to visit, if only because it is in fact next to the city's tourist center.
The amazing architecture of the Church of St. Sebastian involuntarily attracts the attention of any tourist, especially since it is located very close to the tourist area. The temple is built in the style of early gothic, that is, rich and beautiful exterior decoration, while the maximum of asceticism inside. The church is open to visiting not only believers (the temple is valid), but also for tourists. Special attention attracted by the imitation of Calvary with a crucified Christ attracts next to the temple.
The place is very interesting and worthy.
- Church of St. Mary.
In general, in the city more than 20 Catholic temples with a rich history, but there is no particular sense to talk about everyone. It makes sense to stop on some, and the Church of St. Mary enters their number. The temple built in the Dutch is considered one of the largest in all Sri Lanka and is the exact opposite of the Church of St. Sebastian. Laconic appearance, but at the same time the rich internally decoration. It is frescoes, stained glass windows, statues, rich altar, etc.
- Temple Sri Mutumari Amman
Negombo, the city of peaceful coexistence of many religions, and as one of the explicit examples, this is a large number in the city not only Christian temples, but also Buddhist and Hindu. Among the cult facilities of the last religion, the bright spot is allocated by the Chrome of Sri Mutumariamman built in honor of the Mother's Goddess (Amman translated by Sinhalean - Mother). And let the temple looks extremely small outside, then inside it opens throughout the magnificence. Alas, but to the main room where the statue of the goddess is located, the entrance is allowed only to the servants of the temple. But let it do not upset anyone, since the rest of the premises are worthy of attention.
- Temple Sri City Vinagar
Another cult factor of the Hindus is located quite near the temple of Sri Mutumari Amman. Dedicated to the Ganesh Divine and is interesting primarily by its appearance created on all religious canons, with color statues of deities, rich in stone carvings and colorful bas-reliefs.
- Temple Agurukaramulla
The Buddhist Temple of Agurukaramulla was recently renovated and expanded a little, and now it is one of the largest Buddhist temples, not only in the city, but also on the whole island. Many tourists are striking the entrance to the temple performed in the form of an enraged tiger. Inside the building of the cult is decorated with numerous paintings from the life of the Buddha and its followers. Especially interesting for tourists may seem the sculptural complex clearly demonstrating the entire life cycle of man, from birth to death. By the way, there are Russian-speaking monks in the temple, which for a small remuneration can tell about the history of the temple and that it symbolizes a single picture or sculpture.
But not only the buildings of the cult of Slary Negombo, there are worldly attractions. Some of them will be discussed below.
- Fish markets
Negombo is famous for the whole country with his fishermen, and as a result of this, the city's fish markets are one of those places that should be visited by tourists. All of them in the city are two: old and new. And if the new market (by the way, the largest in the country) is more civilized and less interesting for tourists, then the old one must go beyond. It is on it that it is not only to look at all the wealth of the ocean, but also see how the boats come with a catch, as the discharge process passes, as well as rolling fish right on the coastal sand.
- City Channels
Negombo channels can also be attributed to the category of local attractions, but there is no need to go somewhere. They emulate the entire city with a complex and extensive network, and their length is several hundred kilometers. The banks of the canals are populated by local residents, who immediately mooring their fishing boats near their homes. Places are very colorful and impressive with their originality.
- Beach Park
The place is due to the reasons by the attention of tourists, although it is worth a visit to look at how they spend their leisure after the working day. There are no rides, cafes and other attributes of our usual to all parks, but there is a beautiful pond, the carts are moving with food and ice cream along the paths, and young couples defiliate along the tracks. Children will be interested in riding a small train. Surprisingly calm and quiet place.