BALAMU: The best views in Colombo

Colombo is a city by the sea, but many of us can go months without glimpsing a beautiful vista or sunset. There are, however, a few stunning views in the city that are worth checking out.

Grand Oriental Hotel

We harp on this neglected hotel, but the view from their tiny terrace really is the best in the city. From this perch, which seats only about eight, you can see the whole of the port spread out before you like a smorgasbord of containers. You can watch the cranes go up and down, the tug boats plug around, all while sipping a mediocre gin and tonic. Of soft drink, as you prefer.

The Grand Oriental has sweeping views from inside, of course, but there’s something special about being out right where Colombo connects to the sea, especially at night.

Mount Lavinia Children’s Park

Mount Lavinia beach has some stunning sunsets, but one of the more obscure and charming places to catch them is from the Mount Lavinia Children’s Park.

This park is a hidden bit of green which actually looks over the Mount Lavinia Hotel and the ocean. To get there, go down Hotel Road past S. Thomas College. About 500 meters before the hotel you’ll see La Rambla. Turn left down there, then take an immediate right. Right next to a girls’ school, there’s the park.

Note that the park is really meant for kids, so try to take one. It’s open for tykes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but for lone adults they only barely let you in after 4 p.m. Once in, however, it’s a wonderful space. Large green, big playground and even a lending library. If you get there for sunset (around 6 p.m.) you can catch it from the gazebo under a drooping tree, looking out over the ocean from above.

Galle Face/Galle Face Hotel

This is the classic view and still a stunner. Colombo gets some magical sunsets and the chessboard square at Galle Face Hotel is one of the best places to catch them. The service is neglectful and you may not find a place to sit, but you can always walk above the crashing waves and think about Madagascar and the Middle East. Sometimes the Colombo sun reaches a stunning crescendo of pink before it douses itself in the ocean. The Galle Face Hotel is one of the best places to catch it.

That said, the Galle Face Green is just next door and you can see the sun just as well from there, all while enjoying superior service from one of at least four Nana’s and flying a kite.