This is the oldest, largest, and the most visited museum in Sri Lanka built in 1877. National Museum in Colombo is housed in a grand colonial building. With more than 4,000 palm leaf manuscripts, ancient royal regalia, jewelry with Gems and ancient artwork, collection of traditional masks and temple frescoes.

The museum’s main attraction is the crown jewel and throne of the last King of Kandy that was returned to the people of Sri Lanka by the British. Over 750,000 people visited the Museum to see this, when it was first displayed in 1934. You will also find a huge collection of masks and puppets in the museum.

The extensive National Museum Library has been operational since 1877. However, the library was started seven years earlier in 1870 under the name of Government Oriental Library. This is the country's largest legal depository which has numerous local publications printed in the last 150
years. The library also houses many palm leaf manuscripts written in various languages years ago on diverse topics such as astrology and folklore.

This Museum was established in 1986 housing exhibits of pre-historic cave paintings, Jurassic-period fossils, over 5000 specimens of various mammals, plants, and animals native to Sri Lanka. Among other exhibits, you will also find a collection of different rocks that showcase the country's varied natural history.