Rainy day · Colombo · Sri Lanka
4 things to do in Colombo when it rains
Indoor sights that make a wet day feel planned rather than lost.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: AKS.9955, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Gangaramaya Temple, National Museum of Colombo and Lotus Tower. Together the 4 picks below take roughly 5–6 hours across 4 areas; all charge for entry. October is usually the wettest month, with about 19 rainy days.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 4
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 5–6 hours
- Areas
- Slave Island, Cinnamon Gardens and Beira Lake
Colombo on a rainy day
Religious site · Slave Island
1.Gangaramaya Temple
Keep your ticket; it also covers Seema Malaka on Beira Lake, a few minutes' walk away.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Museum · Cinnamon Gardens
2.National Museum of Colombo
Allow time for the mask gallery and the regalia room, then walk across to Viharamahadevi Park.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Kids
Viewpoint · Beira Lake
3.Lotus Tower
Go around sunset to see the city in daylight and after dark on the same ticket.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Views
- Kids
- After dark
- Rainy day
Architecture · Kollupitiya
4.Number 11 (Geoffrey Bawa's house)
Combine it with lunch at the Gallery Café on Alfred House Road, Bawa's former office.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Architecture
- Art
- Off the beaten path
- Rainy day
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Slave Island | Gangaramaya Temple | 1 hour |
| Cinnamon Gardens | National Museum of Colombo | 1.5–2 hours |
| Beira Lake | Lotus Tower | 1–1.5 hours |
| Kollupitiya | Number 11 (Geoffrey Bawa's house) | 1 hour |
Booking and timing
Of these 4, 2 low cost, 2 mid-priced. Book ahead for Number 11 (Geoffrey Bawa's house). The longest visit is National Museum of Colombo; group the rest by area to save travel time.
- Number 11 (Geoffrey Bawa's house): Visits are by guided tour only; book ahead through the Geoffrey Bawa Trust.
How to fit them into 2 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Slave Island, Cinnamon Gardens and Beira Lake): Gangaramaya Temple → National Museum of Colombo → Lotus Tower, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Kollupitiya): Number 11 (Geoffrey Bawa's house), at least 1 hour.
The wettest months
- October: highs of 30°C (86°F), about 19 rainy days, quiet crowds. Inter-monsoon storms make this one of the wettest months, usually with heavy afternoon and evening rain.
- May: highs of 31°C (88°F), about 18 rainy days, quiet crowds. The south-west monsoon arrives, bringing the heaviest rain of the year and rough seas on west-coast beaches.
- June: highs of 30°C (86°F), about 17 rainy days, quiet crowds. Wet and windy, with showers most days; good time for the east coast instead.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Galle Face and Kollupitiya — Seafront hotels, Galle Road restaurants and the Green
- Cinnamon Gardens — Leafy Colombo 7 of museums, parks, embassies and boutiques
- Slave Island — Old multicultural quarter between Beira Lake and new towers
More of Colombo
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Colombo?
Gangaramaya Temple. One of Colombo's most important Buddhist temples mixes Sri Lankan, Thai, Indian and Chinese styles, with a bodhi tree, a vihara full of Buddha statues and an eclectic museum of gifts, from vintage cars to clocks.