The origins of the Galle Fort lie in a storm that happened 500 years ago when a Portuguese ship blew off course and landed in Galle harbour. The Portuguese founded the permanent settlement which the Dutch built into a fortified city starting in 1663. The British took over control of Galle and preserved the present day Galle Fort. It is the finest example of a preserved European fort and is a living microcosm of Sri Lankan history and culture.

Many stormy centuries later, the Fort is now designated an UNESCO World Heritage site. Moorish traders, Portuguese adventurers, Dutch merchants and English colonialists have all left their legacies and thereby contributed to its unique character and history.

These days, the Galle Fort is a warm and breezy place, some streets bustling in the morning, but the afternoons and evenings are quiet and serene. The coral lime, stone and stucco walls that form its bastions and ramparts serve to protect the approximately 400 buildings inside it from the world outside,