A Day out to Galle, and visit to Turtle Hatchery and the Moonstone Mine in Meethiyagoda en route, and end with an optional tour to Hiyare bio- diverse nature reserve.

Galle - The south coast’s major city is Galle, whose oldest landmark is the massive Dutch Fort which is a ‘World Heritage Site’ in which the central city is contained. But the city may be much older. Some scholars believe it to be the ‘Tarshish’ of the Old Testament, to which King Solomon sent his merchant vessels and to which Jonah fled from the Lord. Today, the 90-acre Galle Dutch Fort shows no evidence of its Portuguese founders. The Dutch incorporated the Portuguese northern wall in a great rampart in 1663. A second, taller wall was built inside of it. Between the two walls, a covered passage connected the central bastion with the fort’s two half bastions overlooking the sea. The Dutch also installed a sophisticated drainage system, complete with brick-lined underground sewers that were flushed twice a day by the high and low tides. The original gate to the fort was by the harbor. It is still there, marked by the British Coat-of-Arms on the front and the Dutch      V. O. C. (Vereenigde Oost indische Compagnie) with the Coat-of-Arms with a rooster crest on the inner side of the fort.

Hiyare – is a little known, small bio- diverse nature reserve approx. 30 minutes from Galle, Located hidden away off the road leading inland to Udugama, this lush rainforest reserve is a treasure collection of fauna and flora quiet refreshingly different to the more popular nature reserves. Hiyare is a serene, quiet eco-system of plants, birds, insects and the occasional mammal such as a deer or a sambar in a perfect natural setting with little disturbance from humans.

The rain forest has no roads and vehicles need to be parked at the entrance. The only way further into the forest is by foot or on board a little paddle boat. 

End of the Tour