From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Negombo (, pronounced [ˈmiːgamuʋə] in Sinhala) is a town of about 65,000, approximately 30 km north of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is located at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, about 10 km from the Bandaranaike International Airport. Negombo has a small port and its economy is based on tourism and fishing, though it also produces ceramics and brass ware.

Contents 1 Name 2 Beach 3 Religion 4 Night Life 5 Schools and Educational Institutes 6 Negombo YMCA 7 Maps 8 See also 9 External links

The place-name "Negombo" itself has no meaning: it was first used by the Portuguese and is a corruption of the Sinhala name Mīgamuva(මීගමුව), which literally translates as "village of honey".

Negombo is situated by the shores of a lagoon by the same name once has been a trading port for Portuguese and Dutch and is an ideal place for those who want quick access to and from the airport. Attractions in the city are the old Dutch fort gate built in 1672 now a part of the prison, the Dutch Canal which was then a supply route to the Dutch administration, old churches and fishing villagers. The 100km long canal running through the town is still being used and is an attraction for those who want to see the country from a different perspective.

The stretch of road towards Kotchchikade comes to life at dusk (most shops are open at daytime too) with many handicrafts and curio shops, gem shops, restaurants and internet cafes catering for tourists.

Fine sandy beaches of Negombo has been mostly unexplored but less crowded as most tourists use the town for the first or the last night of their stay in Sri Lanka. That is where the advantage where you have the beach mostly to your self. Nevertheless those who have identified it's secrets have been visiting the town year after year. Fine beach stretches are superbly maintained by the hotels while some are always busy with fisherman and their equipment.

Equipment for water sports such as diving, wind surfing are available at most hotels and private vendors. There are few schools offering diving courses.

Majority of people in Negombo are Roman Catholic. It has a lot of Roman Chatholic churches. Due to this it is given the name "Little Rome".

There are so may churches which was built in the time of Portuguese and Dutch. No other religion in South Asia owns such magnificent and impressive religious places like the gigantic churches found in Negombo. The majority of them are being funded by the mighty fisheries community in Negombo.

Also, there are Buddhists, Hindus and other Christians like Jevohah Witnesses, AOG,LDS and other small churches.

There are a lot of Hotels, Restaurants and Night Clubs in the Beach Strip, which is commonly known as "Beach Side". The most famous ones are Rodeo, Browns and Camlot.

There are lot of Religious and Public School Harishchandra College Maris Stella College (boys) Ave Maria Girls College Newstead Girls College St. Mary's Boys College St. Peters College St. Joseph College

ESOFT Computer Studies(pvt) Ltd - Negombo No 1, 2nd Floor, St Judes Place, Thaladuwa, Negombo

IDM Negombo AGS Business School Gateway Institute Kithunana Institute

197/13, Thaladuwa Road, Negombo Programme: Child Rights Programme, Pre-school, Leadership development, Vocational Training & carrer guidance, English Language Training, Community uplifting programme.Human Right & Peace, Micro credit, self employment project, sports & recreational,Education,Bible studies.

• Detailed map of Negombo vicinity and Sri Lanka

St Mary's Church, Pitipana, Negombo .

• Negombo Tamils
• Bharatakula
• RAF Negombo
• Place names in Sri Lanka

• Negombo - a large fishing town

Coordinates: 7°13′N, 79°50′E

Sri Lankan Cities	Sri Lankan cities
	Colombo (Commercial Capital) | Sri Jayewardenapura (National Capital) | Anuradhapura | Trincomalee | Jaffna | Kandy | Polonnaruwa | Galle | Batticaloa | Boralesgamuwa | Nuwara Eliya | Negombo | Kurunegala | Badulla | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia | Moratuwa | Matara | Maharagama | Ratnapura