PETTAH BAZAAR

In Sinhalese, "pita kotuwa" refers to the exterior of the fort. The Pettah district is famous for its gigantic, inextricable street market, the "bazaar", the main part of which is roughly bounded from west to east by Front Street and 5th Street, and from north to south by the Colombo harbour and Prince Street, where the Dutch Museum is located. Entering Pettah by car should be avoided at all costs.
On either side of Main Street, every profession has its own street. On 1st Cross Street, electrical appliances and cell phones take center stage; on 2nd Cross Street and 3rd Cross Street, textile merchants vie for customers. Finally, at the end of the route, after passing 4th Cross Street and its food wholesalers, you'll no doubt be enticed by the aromatic spices escaping from the stalls of 5th Cross Street and the covered market.

From here, you can take a quick tour of the Old Town Hall and then turn left onto Sea Street, where the jewelers jostle each other, or go right and reach the bus station amidst the indescribable crowds. You'll then continue your tour of the Pettah market between 5th Cross Street and Bodhiraja Mawatta, under the covered Old Town Hall Market. Continuing on, you'll cross Fose Market to Olcott Mawatha, ending at the corner of Central Bus Terminal (the red public buses), close to the railway station. On the other side of the boulevard, Mining Market, specializing in fruit and vegetables.