Parliament & Diyawanna Lake
Western Province
About Parliament & Diyawanna Lake
Sri Lanka's Parliament is the crowning public work of Geoffrey Bawa: opened in 1982 on an island in the Diyawanna Oya at Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte - the marsh-moated medieval capital reborn as the administrative one - its cascade of copper-roofed pavilions rises from the water like a fleet of ceremonial barges at anchor. The building itself is off-limits to casual visitors, but its setting is generously public: the lakeside drives, jogging paths, and lawns around the Diyawanna give open views of Bawa's silhouette doubled in the water, at their best at first light and at dusk when the roofs go molten. The surrounding wetland parks - Diyatha Uyana's fountains one way, Beddagana's boardwalks the other - share the same waterscape with pelicans and monitor lizards commuting between them. Together they make Kotte's lake circuit the capital's most pleasant surprise: state architecture, birdlife, and evening ice cream in one loop.
Top Activities
- ✓Lakeside views of Bawa's parliament
- ✓Diyawanna jogging and cycling paths
- ✓Wetland birdwatching
- ✓Combine with Diyatha Uyana and Beddagana
- ✓Sunset photography across the water
Nearby Attractions
Travel Tips
Photograph from the public lakeside only - the island itself is high security.
Dawn gives still water and the perfect reflection.
Do the full lake circuit: Diyatha, parliament views, then Beddagana.
Quick Info
Best Time
Year-round; dawn and dusk
Weather
Warm; the lake breeze makes evenings pleasant.
Estimated Daily Budget
6.8864°N, 79.9183°E
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