Negombo
A fishing and lagoon town near Colombo airport, with Dutch canals, outrigger catamarans and a large fish market.
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Negombo works for most visitors as the first or last night in Sri Lanka because it is minutes from the airport, but it is a substantial fishing town in its own right: the Lellama fish market runs on the beach in the early morning with the catch landed from outrigger oruwa catamarans, Dutch-built canals cut inland from the lagoon, and the town is strongly Catholic with churches every few streets and a Portuguese-derived name for the coast.
What you actually see
- The fish market - the morning landing and auction on the beach at Lellama.
- The oruwa catamarans - outrigger sailing craft still worked from the beach.
- The Dutch canal - the eighteenth-century waterway running inland from the lagoon.
- The lagoon - shallow water behind the town, worked for prawns and crab.
When to go
November to April is the drier window on this coast. The fish market runs before dawn and is over by mid-morning. The southwest monsoon brings rough sea from May.
Honest expectations
The beach is not the reason to come; it is narrow, eroded and lined with hotels and touts. The canal is polluted in stretches. The town is a convenient stopover more than a destination.
Nearby
Muthurajawela is south, and Colombo airport is close by.
What to pack for Negombo
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.