Most visited Tourism Destinations places in Colombo - Beira Lake

 

                               

                           Beira Lake

Beira Lake is a lake in the centre of the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The lake is surrounded by many large businesses in the city. It initially occupied approximately 1.65 km (0.64 sq mi) of land 100 years ago and this has since been reduced to 0.65 km (0.25 sq mi) today due to various reasons. During the colonial era of the Portuguese, Dutch and the English the lake was used for a wide variety of purposes. It still retains its Portuguese name. It is connected to many intricate canals which provided an easy way of transporting goods within the city and suburban cities. The derivation of the name is uncertain, yet it was as recent as 1927 that 'Beira Lake' first appeared on maps. Before that, it was called the 'Colombo Lake' or just 'The Lake'.One idea is that it got its name from a Portuguese Engineer called 'Beira' who worked in constructing the lake or from a Dutch Engineer called 'De Beer'.The idea of De Beer is supported by a granite plaque which was recovered from the sluice of the lake, inscribed "De Beer 1700".Other idea is that it got named from the word 'Beira', which in Portuguese meant the 'Bank or Edge of the Lake'. Another idea is that it got from 'De Beer', which in Portuguese meant the 'Anchoring Point'. It may have also been named after the Portuguese province of the same name