A suburb of Colombo, Mount Lavinia possesses the nearest beach to the city centre, adjacent to a headland that juts into the Indian Ocean. The famous colonial-era Mount Lavinia Hotel and beachside restaurants and bars and the beach are pleasant enough for you to enjoy a quiet atmosphere here.
Mount Lavinia is a Westernized name and its origins begin with two theories. One is that Governor General Sir Thomas Maitland had built a mansion there in 1805 (now part of the Mount Lavinia Hotel) and had fallen in love with a beautiful low caste dancing girl called Lovina, who was discreetly smuggled into the mansion through a tunnel. The other could be a corruption of an old name, Lihiniyagala – “rock” or “cliff of the birds”.
The closest attraction to Mount Lavinia is the National Zoological Gardens at Dehiwela, known as the Dehiwela Zoo, one of the largest in Southeast Asia. The zoo and its gardens are best experienced by visitors early morning as soon as it opens (8am – 6pm everyday). It has animals - some 350 species to observe. Enclosures like the lion and gibbon islands are a fascinating place to watch the animals in their simulated surroundings. The elephant show at the zoo is also a major attraction, mainly for children. The zoo can get overcrowded at weekends.
A grand extent of 37,400 hectares, stretches Bolgoda Lake – a few kilo meters inlaid from the Colombo/Galle main road. The Bolgoda lake is Sri Lanka’s largest natural water basin and
freshwater pool where up to 45 fish species have been identified. five of which are endemic and 160 bird species (mostly migrants and waterfowl) prowl and flit along the lakeshore.
There is rich flora including aquatic, semi-aquatic and terrestrial plants – grasses, trees and water plants and dense mangrove.
