Why Galle?

Galle Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where people still live, pray, trade and play cricket inside 17th-century Dutch walls.

A Dutch church, an Anglican church, a Buddhist temple and the white Meeran Jumma Mosque stand a few streets apart.

The architect of tropical modernism built the Lighthouse hotel here and his own garden, Lunuganga, an hour up the coast.

Unawatuna, Jungle Beach, Dalawella, Ahangama, Weligama and Mirissa are all within an hour along the coast road.

From December, blue whales and dolphins are seen off Mirissa as the seas calm on the south coast.

Low-grown tea grows right behind the beaches; Handunugoda estate is 30 minutes from the Fort.

Sri Lankan cooking is generous and spice-led, and seafood comes straight off the boats.

The Fort is small enough to walk end to end in 20 minutes. Days here are slow by design.