CANAL HAMILTON

The island's west coast boasts numerous natural canals. At the end of the ^15th century, the King of Kotte, Parakramabahu VIII, developed a network of canals linking the villages around Colombo to the Negombo lagoon, in order to transport goods more easily to the port of Negombo. In the ^17th century, the Dutch chose Colombo as the nerve center of their colony. They built dams and canals to improve the waterway system, drain salt water from rice paddies along the coast and facilitate the transport of goods by barge to the seaport of Negombo. The canals extended over a distance of 172 km. When the British took over the island in 1796, they began building a new canal, parallel to the old Dutch canal. The canal, designed by George Atkinson and supported by Gavin Hamilton, was completed in 1802. Now called the Hamilton Canal and nicknamed the Dutch Canal, it runs 14.5 km from the city center through the Negombo lagoon. Negombo's canals were renovated by the Sri Lankan government with Japanese assistance in 2012 and 2013. Negombo's large lagoon is fed by small rivers and the Hamilton Canal. It is connected to the ocean by a small canal and has brackish waters. A boat trip will allow you to admire different kinds of mangroves and a rich birdlife, including pelicans, cormorants, herons, egrets..