Dehiwala Zoo is one of the finest in Asia and its sprawling areas are home to a variety of animals and birds. Enjoy a fun-filled day at the zoo with your kids. Dehiwala Zoo features several species of animals and birds in their natural habitat. You will be amazed to see the lions, bears, tigers, rhinos, giraffes and gorillas, all roaming freely. This is a sight you will not come across in too many zoos of the world. The highlight of the zoo is the elephant circus with extra shows on Sunday and holidays. The huge animals perform all sorts of antics. They stand on their heads, wiggle their backs to music and hop on one foot and even stand up on their hind legs. The real excitement begins when an elephant places a foot on the mahout's stomach and lifts him by the head using its mouth.

This is Colombo's biggest park, originally called Victoria Park but renamed in the 1950s after the mother of King Dutugemunu. It's notable for its superb flowering trees in march, April and early May. Cuttin across the middle of the park is the board Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawathy (Green Path). Colombo's white-domed old town Hall or 'white House' overlooks the park from the northeast. Working elephants sometimes spend the night in the park, happily chomping on plam branches.

Cinnamon Gardens, about 5 km south of Fort and 2km inland, is Colombo's ritziest address, full of overgrown residences and embassies. A century ago it was covered in cinnamon plantations. Today, as well as elegant tree-lined streets and the posh mansions of the wealthy and powerful, it contains the city's biggest park, several sports grounds and a cluster of museums and galleries.

Originally a fort during the Portuguese and Dutch periods but now simply the commercial center of the country and the site of most major offices, big hotels, some of the better shops, airline offices, banks, main post office, immigration office, travel agents and restaurants. Within Fort are several places of tourist interest which can be conveniently seen on foot. The colonial buildings include the Presidential Secretariat, previously the parliament house, the Grand Oriental Hotel, built in the mid 19th century as barracks for soldiers, the Lighthouse Clock Tower which along with being.