You have to visit Galle Fort while traveling Sri Lanka!
The heart of Galle: the fort right on the waterfront
Our first real trip — since we arrived in Sri Lanka a month ago — was to Galle, to the Galle Dutch Fort. This is a fort that was built and fortified by the Dutch in 1963. This fortress with the castle and the associated lighthouse is located in Galle directly on the sea and is considered a monument that you should definitely visit when you are in Sri Lanka.
Our “journey” through Sri Lanka has led us a few days ago from the west of Sri Lanka (Colombo) to the south, to Galle. There is still a lockdown here but tourists are exempt from the restrictions (at least as far as travel is concerned). With our passports, the vaccination certificates and the negative PCR test certificate we can move around the country without any problems. In any case, this is already a huge difference to the last weeks, which we spent mostly in the apartment.
Unfortunately, however, all stores, cafes, restaurants or even attractions continue to be closed. So it is only possible to visit places that are outside and in nature. For example, beaches, certain temples, viewpoints or even the Galle Fort. Since we had an accommodation — the Villa White Queen — very close to the fort, we decided to see the landmark of Galle in person and to get an impression of Galle.
By tuktuk to Galle Fort
The manager of the Villa White Queen got us a tuktuk, which took us to the fort of Galle. Tuktuks are one of the main means of transportation in Sri Lanka. It may even be that there are more tuktuks here than real cars. At least the streets are teeming with these funny little vehicles. In the meantime, we have noticed that there are fast and slow tuktuks. This may also be due to the age of the vehicles but there are big differences.
This time we caught a very slow tuktuk, which I personally find quite nice. With the traffic in Sri Lanka you can quickly get the feeling to be involved in an accident several times even on a short distance. There are — at least it seems — no real traffic rules. Whoever is first, drives first. And honking is such the warning sign or signal that you are overtaking someone, driving on the wrong side or crossing a crowded intersection first. To be honest, I haven’t really been able to identify a rule yet.
Another advantage of a slow tuktuk is that you can look around at your leisure. And at the moment, when you can’t explore so much anyway, this is then a successful change. Although sometimes, especially when going uphill, you get the feeling that you’re going to stop at any moment and roll backwards down again. But so far every tuktuk has made it, even if only at a snail’s pace.
The ride from Villa White Queen to Galle Fort takes just under 5 minutes. Past the really enormous fort we are brought to the central point of Galle. Quasi directly in front of the lighthouse, the driver lets us off at the roadside. He asks us if we are right here and when we confirm this, he asks us to take a picture of Marc and me. Somewhat surprised we simply go along. Afterwards the driver pulls first me for a selfie to him and finally Marc and me together. We seem to be a real attraction here! :-D
The lighthouse of Galle Fort
From the tuktuk it is only a few meters to the lighthouse of Galle Fort. Over a few steps of an old wall of the fort we reach a beach section. There we discover some locals who are fishing. Already on the beach we have a great view. The many small or large rocks in the water, let the waves break and provide an interesting as well as fantastic view. On the left side the bay stretches relatively far and on the other side you have a fascinating view of the lighthouse and the wall of the fort.
When we were on the beach, the lighthouse was illuminated from behind by the sun and thus looked almost too magical. The palm trees all around create a tropical vacation feeling and make this setting unique. Due to the fresh breeze from the ocean, you can stand it there even in the midday heat — even if you will be looking for a shady spot after a short while.
On the way to the fortress of Galle
Our way finally leads us back to the lighthouse and from there over the rampart/wall of the fortress along the sea. In order to protect the city in former times against intruders or attackers, holes were let in the walls again and again, in order to be able to place a cannon there or to be able to defend the own country with archers. These recesses are still present today.
The wall is now covered with grass and if you walk on it, you have a wonderful view of the sea. You can look for kilometers.
Every now and then massive cannons stand on the rampart. I dare to doubt that they are in the originals but I find it very interesting and fascinating to be able to dive a little bit into this other world. If you move away from the lighthouse and walk along the rampart you have something to marvel at everywhere. Be it the view back to the lighthouse framed by palm trees, the wide sea, the impressive wall or the small, inviting alleys of Galle. I don’t really know which part I should memorize first.
A short walk away there is an old viewing platform. A few steps take you to the round platform and from there — as before — you have an insanely beautiful view of the lighthouse as well as the sea. The waves break calmly there and the water is crystal clear. You can look down to the bottom and watch the crabs in their wild activity.
The old town of Galle
Since the alleys and streets of the old town look so inviting, we explore them as well. There is a rumor that an Italian restaurant should be open here. This we wanted to look for and thereby also get to know the old town a bit. Unfortunately, I must say, the city resembles a ghost town. Everything is closed, many buildings, stores or businesses are run down or even completely destroyed. There is no possibility to take a seat somewhere or to look at something.
The streets are really deserted. From time to time you might meet a local but even that is rather rare. And also the restaurant, which should be open, is unfortunately closed. So we just walk a little through the empty streets. In general — outside of Corona and the Lockdown — there is certainly a lot to discover here. There are many small stores and even if the doors are all closed and covered, the charm of the old town can at least be guessed.
Arriving back at our starting point, we walk along the fortress for a bit this time, but have to realize that there is not too much left to discover here. Every few meters a tuktuk stops next to us and asks where we want to go. At first we always explain that we want to take a walk. After a few minutes we decide to drive back to our accommodation. A nice driver takes us via tuktuk to Villa White Queen, where we finish the evening.
