National Maritime Museum - History, Timings & Entry Fee

At a distance of 1 km from Galle Railway Station, National Maritime Museum is an archaeology museum situated inside the Galle Fort, Galle. It is the only museum which aware the public on marine biological and anthropological aspects of the Southern coastal area of Sri Lanka.

Established in 1992, Maritime Museum is housed in a 1671 Dutch warehouse above the Old Gate of Galle Fort. The museum mainly focused on exhibits of sea life. There were stuffed specimens, fossils, shells, skeletons and scale models of whales, dolphins, porpoises, and fish. The museum also displayed exhibits connected to sea-faring, maritime trade, fishing and relics retrieved from the 20-odd shipwrecks around Galle. Other exhibits included life-sized dioramas of Sri Lankan fishing methods, a 'walk along the seafloor' exhibit with natural coral beds, seaweed, and deep-sea fish. One of the interesting exhibits of the museum was a display of the causes of sea pollution, coast erosion, and the methods used to combat these problems.

Earlier, it was a must-visit tourist attraction in Galle but things were changed after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. The museum was completely destroyed and all the exhibited items were damaged. Many exhibits returned to the sea with the waters, and only 20% of the estimated 3600 displays were salvageable. In 2007, the government together with the Royal Government of Netherlands renovated the warehouse under Sri Lanka - Netherlands Cultural Co-operation Program. After the renovation, the museum is officially reopened in 2010.

The museum, while being on a smaller scale than the previous version of it, has a decent collection of artifacts arranged in two galleries. The first gallery showcases various marine vessels used in Southern Sri Lanka and exhibits on local fishing communities with attractive models and replicas. The Second Gallery is focused on marine ecosystems. Models of mangroves, seashore plants, turtles, sea birds, and marine mammals are displayed with their taxonomic details here. Specimens of corals, marine shells and some invertebrates can be observed in the exhibition while a large skeleton of a Whale mounted in the roof giving you a wonderful experience.

Timings: 9 AM to 5 PM, Closed on Sundays, Mondays and on Public Holidays

Entry: LKR. 20 for Locals, LKR. 300 for Foreign Adult & LKR. 150 for Foreign Child