Book A Tour

To book a tour revealing the secrets and unique spots around Galle Fort or Colombo city, call the author Juliet Coombe on +94 (0) 776838659 or go to 60 Leyn Baan Street and book a tour with Juliet direct.

Walking Tours can be taken daily for an hour and a half early morning or late afternoon.

Cost:
One Hour - $20 US
Half Day - $75 US
Full Day - $150 US
(all prices are per person)

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Borella Graveyard Walk
The cities of the dead – The Arthur C. Clarke Walk

The Borella Cemetery (generally referred to as kanatte in Sinhala) is often compared to the High Gate Cemetery in London. It was established in 1840 and is the last resting place of one of the worlds best selling science fiction writers – Arthur C. Clarke who made Sri Lanka his home for over fifty years. The cemetery is located along three roads – Elvitigala Mawatha and Bauddhaloka Mawatha (formally Bullers Road) where they meet at a large roundabout, and Model Farm Road at the rear. The best place to start a graveyard walk is along the central pathway from the main gate to the far end of the graveyard where the 19th Century crematorium is situated. Here you will discover some beautiful inscriptions and poetry with moving lines like: ‘A light from the home is gone, a voice we loved is stilled, and a place is vacant in our home, that never can be filled.’

The most interesting graves in the semi-circle are of the two legendary Sri Lankan musical stars – H.R. Jothipala and Milton Perera – both renowned for their renditions of Sinhala love songs that also include the baila – tunes that have a fast beat and are typically local. A comparatively unassuming tombstone for one of the most popular musicians ever to come out of Sri Lanka, there stands Jothipala’s grave – a cylinder that rises quite high etched with lyrics from most of his popular songs.

Walk back one block towards the main gate and turn right on the pathway, keep on walking and at the far end you will discover Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s grave with his portrait and a fitting line for the writer of Space Odyssey – ‘He never grew up, but he never stopped growing.’

Walk further into the graveyard and discover the fenced off Commonwealth War Memorial graves honouring the victims of the First and the Second World Wars.

Come out through the gate that opens onto Elvitigala Mawatha and catch a tuk tuk. It will cost around Rs.100 to get to the Jawatte Muslim Burial Grounds – No.50, Torrington Avenue. Women are not allowed in – it's nothing personal, it is just a religious requirement. Inside, it lays the faithful Muslim dead in simple graves. Unlike the Christian burial grounds, the tombstones are not flashy, and are more about just demarcating one’s final resting place. Some small and weathered with time, others fresh, still bearing the tearful message attached to flowers to loved ones that serve as a reminder to all of us – memento mori. On the right side, just as you enter the graveyard is the Commonwealth soldiers burial area, with the graves of Muslim soldiers who also gave their lives to the wars.

Only minutes away, the Torrington kovil in Jawatte, complete with its own cow that guards the temple entrance is a fascinating spot to end your walking tour. Inside the kovil, colourful, hand carved Hindu statues will leave you in no doubt of the Tamils’ artistic talents.