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Tripping Sri Lanka

A heritage travel publication exploring the colonial-era places, stories and landscapes that still shape the island today.

Old Ceylon · Heritage · Slow Travel
Themes
  • Colonial Cities
  • Forts & Harbour Towns
  • Tea Country & Hill Stations
  • Railways of Old Ceylon
  • Historic Hotels & Rest Houses
Regions
  • Plantation Country
  • The Northern & Eastern Forts
  • The Hill Country
  • The Southern Forts
  • Colombo & the Western Coast
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  • Start Here
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Galle Fort lighthouse at dusk, Southern Province of Sri Lanka
No. 01 — The Southern Forts

TRIPPING
SRI LANKA

Walk the Dutch ramparts at dusk. A heritage travel publication exploring the colonial-era places, stories and landscapes that still shape the island today.

Explore Stories Plan a Trip
7°N · 80°E
No. 01 — Featured

Featured Old Ceylon Stories

A handful of long reads from the archive — forts, hotels, hill country and the streets of the colonial capital.

All stories
Colombo Public Library at 100: The Names That Still Remain

Colombo Public Library at 100: The Names That Still Remain

An Old Register and a City Remembered There is something about an old register that photographs can never quite reproduce. Perhaps it is the handwriting. …

Read story
The Toll Gate at the Bridge: Old Road Tolls in Ceylon

The Toll Gate at the Bridge: When Travelling Across Ceylon Cost a Few Cents at a Time

When the Road Had a Price The Toll Gate at the Bridge | There was a time when travelling across Ceylon did not only mean distance, dust and waiting for th…

St Margaret’s church of Kotagala: The Church That Watched Coffee Country Become Tea Country

St Margaret’s Church of Kotagala: The Little Stone Church That Watched Coffee Country Become Tea Country

A Church Among the Estates St Margaret’s church of Kotagala | There is something slightly unexpected about finding an English-looking stone church among t…

No. 02 — By Theme

Explore Colonial Sri Lanka by Theme

Six routes through Old Ceylon — pick the one that calls. Cities, forts, tea country, railways, hotels and civic buildings.

Colonial Cities

Colonial Cities

49

Colombo, Kandy and the trading towns whose streets still carry the names of merchants, governors and forgotten clubs.

Forts & Harbour Towns

Forts & Harbour Towns

10

Portuguese, Dutch and British walls that once defended the cinnamon trade — Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee and Batticaloa.

Tea Country & Hill Stations

Tea Country & Hill Stations

44

Nuwara Eliya, Hatton, Haputale — bungalows, planter clubs and the cool air the British called a second Scotland.

Railways of Old Ceylon

Railways of Old Ceylon

14

The line from Colombo to Badulla was an act of empire, an act of engineering, and one of the most beautiful train rides on earth.

Historic Hotels & Rest Houses

Historic Hotels & Rest Houses

10

Queen's, Galle Face, Mount Lavinia, the Hill Club — the hotels where Old Ceylon stopped to write a postcard.

Churches, Post Offices & Civic Buildings

Churches, Post Offices & Civic Buildings

15

Dutch Reformed churches, Anglican spires, the General Post Office — the quiet civic furniture of a colonial century.

No. 03 — Collection

The Old Ceylon Travel Collection

Curated long-reads — read in order, or pick the one that catches your eye. The numbered spread updates each season.

Open collection
  • No. 01
    Colombo Public Library at 100: The Names That Still Remain

    Colombo Public Library at 100: The Names That Still Remain

  • No. 02
    The Toll Gate at the Bridge: When Travelling Across Ceylon Cost a Few Cents at a Time

    The Toll Gate at the Bridge: When Travelling Across Ceylon Cost a Few Cents at a Time

  • No. 03
    St Margaret’s Church of Kotagala: The Little Stone Church That Watched Coffee Country Become Tea Country

    St Margaret’s Church of Kotagala: The Little Stone Church That Watched Coffee Country Become Tea Country

  • No. 04
    The Station Master’s House: Growing Up Beside the Railway in Old Ceylon

    The Station Master’s House: Growing Up Beside the Railway in Old Ceylon

  • No. 05
    Tea and Viskothu: The Dutch Word That Became Part of Sri Lankan Tea Time

    Tea and Viskothu: The Dutch Word That Became Part of Sri Lankan Tea Time

No. 04 — By Region

Explore Colonial Sri Lanka by Region

From the western harbour to the eastern fort, the southern walls to the upcountry bungalows — the island laid out like an old travel map.

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Plantation Country
Region

Plantation Country

Explore the region →Plan this region
Old colonial-era post office, Sri Lanka
No. 05 — Begin Here

New to Old Ceylon? Start here.

A short reading list to get your bearings — what colonial Sri Lanka actually was, where to look for it today and how to plan a trip around the heritage that still stands.

Open the introduction
Editorial Promise

A heritage travel publication, not a tourist blog.

What we explore

Forts, hotels, railways, tea estates, churches, post offices and the small civic furniture of a colonial century.

How we write

Place-based, researched, image-led. We open archives, walk streets, look up at cornices.

What we avoid

Top-ten lists, political polemic, academic distance. We are travel writers first.

Who it's for

Slow travellers, architecture readers, returning diaspora, anyone curious about Old Ceylon.

No. 06 — Latest

Latest Heritage Travel Stories

All stories
Colombo Public Library at 100: The Names That Still Remain
Story

Colombo Public Library at 100: The Names That Still Remain

An Old Register and a City Remembered There is something about an old register that photographs can never quite reproduce. Perhaps it is the handwriting. …

The Toll Gate at the Bridge: Old Road Tolls in Ceylon
Story

The Toll Gate at the Bridge: When Travelling Across Ceylon Cost a Few Cents at a Time

When the Road Had a Price The Toll Gate at the Bridge | There was a time when travelling across Ceylon did not only mean distance, dust and waiting for th…

St Margaret’s church of Kotagala: The Church That Watched Coffee Country Become Tea Country
Story

St Margaret’s Church of Kotagala: The Little Stone Church That Watched Coffee Country Become Tea Country

A Church Among the Estates St Margaret’s church of Kotagala | There is something slightly unexpected about finding an English-looking stone church among t…

Station Master’s House Ceylon: Railway Life
Story

The Station Master’s House: Growing Up Beside the Railway in Old Ceylon

A House Beside the Tracks station master’s house Ceylon | There were houses in old Ceylon where the railway was not something you travelled on, but someth…

Begin your own trip

GO AND ReAD THE ISLAND

The colonial chapters are still in plain sight — the forts, the railway, the bungalows, the post office clocks. Pack light. Walk slow.

Plan a heritage trip Read the archive