Things to do in Dehiwala

Dehiwala runs into Mount Lavinia and functions as one place, which is why its calendar reads as two. On the sea side, the hotels along the beach take live music, Sunday brunches, dinner-dances and the wedding season, and the sand itself fills for New Year's Eve and the long weekends. Inland it is dense residential town: the zoo runs school-holiday programmes, and the churches, temples and schools between Galle Road and the railway line put on feasts, fairs, carol services and prize-givings that almost never reach a ticketing site.

Treat it as part of Colombo rather than a trip. Most of what is listed here is a short drive from the city centre, entry is usually free or a small amount at the gate, and the organiser is typically a parish, a school or a hotel rather than a promoter. Where a hotel event is ticketed it sells through the property directly. The coast road is the one hazard — it slows to a crawl from late afternoon, so allow far more time than the distance suggests.