Past And Future Waterway In Negombo Sri Lanka – The Hamilton Canal

Sri Lanka is one of the countries well known for its hydraulic expertise since the ancient period, and the country is home to a number of man-made canals and lakes across the country. Among the canals of Sri Lanka, The Hamilton canal plays a major role in the livelihood of the people who are living by this ancient canal system.

The early history of the canal

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It is said that the canal was initially built by the King Veera Parakramabahu VIII in the 15th century. The network of canals connecting the outer lying villages with Colombo and Negombo was used to transport spices. Later during the reign of the early colonizers, the canal was renovated and during the British reign a new Colombo - Negombo canal was built under the command of Garvin Hamilton, who was the British agent of revenue and commerce since then and the canal was named after him.

The canal today

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The reminiscence of the ancient times has faded away and what you’ll see now is a modern and improved canal which is mainly used by the fishing community living by the canal. The old paddle boats have been replaced by modern motorized fishing boats but the surrounding has not gone through much of a change, apart from being slightly populated the vegetation and the mangroves can still be seen.

The future

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As the region surrounding the canal falls near the coastline which is home to number of hotels and resorts like the Heritance Negombo, the canal now attracts tourists who are visiting these resorts and as the Srilankan government has taken initiatives to beautify the canal and its surrounding, in future this will definitely attract more visitors and will become a popular tourist hotspot.