The natural harbour of Galle was a famous ancient port in Sri Lanka which has been recorded in local and foreign literature before the arrival of the Europeans. The arrival of Ibn Battuta in 1344, the discovery of the Trilingual inscription of Chinese Admiral Cheng He in 1409 and the numerous shipwrecks on the harbour floor are some of the evidence that shed light on the history of Galle. Galle’s colonial history begins in 1588 when the Portuguese established a small fort on the small peninsular covering the harbour from the west and fortified the area accessible by land with a rampart and 3 bastions.
The lighthouse in the Galle Fort is one of the main tourist attractions in the Galle.
The present Lighthouse, rising about 92 feet above sea level was built in 1940 on the Utrecht bastion on the southern tip of the Fort; its electric bulb shines for about 15 miles out to sea. This lighthouse was built to replace the former, which was built out of iron on Vlaggeklip bastion in 1848 and which was destroyed by a fire in 1939.
Galle for during the daytime
