Kalutara

The city gets its name from the “Kaluganga” river which flows past famous “Gangathilake” Temple with a hollow “stupa” and adored inside with many paintings, sits on the former location of the Kalutara British fort. First mentioned in the 11th century where a Tamil prince made this a temporary capital but was unable to hold it against the Sinhalese forces from the south. Today the region is more famous for lush coconut palms and the capital for rush and reed ware products along with the toddy tapper’s ropes running from coconut tree to coconut tree, a common sight in Kalutara.