Mount Lavinia overview

Mount Lavinia is a purpose-built collection of urban communities and modern developments that lie directly south of Colombo. Its proximity to the capital has seen the city-centre suburb of Dehiwala exposed to massive industrialisation accompany the urbanisation of the town in recent years, with the tell-tale signs of drab apartment blocks and kitsch department stores sprouting everywhere. Traffic is chaotic at the best of times while the associated pollution can be intense, leading most travellers towards the Golden Mile beach area for which Mount Lavinia is most well known. A tourist hot-spot if ever there was such a thing in Sri Lanka, the waterfront offers serious relaxation and vastly under-rated local cuisine. Liberal Mount Lavinia is also home to the Rainbow Kite Festival – the nation’s gay pride party. No trip should be complete without a visit to the iconic Mount Lavinia Hotel where the story of the town’s foundation is told.