Colombo Walking Tour: Fort & Pettah with Ajeet De Soyza

Small group walking tour of Colombo Fort and Pettah with a guide who has worked in the Fort since 1993, covering colonial landmarks, hidden gems and the stories behind them.

Travelers will join Ajeet De Soyza, who went to school in Kotahena and began his career in the old Victoria Arcade, for a relaxed walk through Colombo’s historic Fort district and the lively streets of Pettah. Along the way you will see the Portuguese, Dutch and British layers of the city, the red Cargills building, the Grand Oriental Hotel and St Peter’s Church, and hear the stories that never made it onto a plaque, from how a Cargills family member went on to help found British Petroleum to the clubs, bars and merchant houses of old Colombo.

Tuk tuk rides link the longer stretches, and a few hidden gems are saved for the end. Ajeet keeps the group small and the pace easy, with plenty of time for questions, and shapes the walk around what interests you most.