Best Time To Visit Colombo > Weather, Temperature & Season

What is the best time to visit Colombo?

The best time to visit Colombo is December to April, the dry season, at 23°C to 32°C. January and February are the driest and least humid months, and April is the hottest.

Colombo has two wet spells, not one. The southwest monsoon runs from May to September, heaviest around May and June, and the second inter-monsoon brings more rain in October and November. Between them, October and May are the wettest months of the year.

It is a city, so it works in any month: the museums, markets, temples and colonial quarter are all fine in rain. Galle down the coast and Kandy in the hills share the same dry window.

Monthly Weather in Colombo

Month	High/Low (°C)	Rain
January	31°/ 23°	7 days
February	32°/ 23°	4 days
March	32°/ 24°	11 days
April	32°/ 25°	24 days
May	31°/ 26°	21 days
June	30°/ 25°	26 days
July	30°/ 25°	15 days
August	29°/ 25°	26 days
September	29°/ 24°	28 days
October	29°/ 24°	29 days
November	30°/ 24°	27 days
December	30°/ 23°	21 days

Colombo Travel Packages

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8 Nights / 9 Days

9-Day Sri Lanka Adventure: Beaches, Heritage, Wildlife, and Scenic Train Ride

Colombo(1N) → Dambulla(2N) → Kandy(1N) → Nuwara Eliya(1N) &...

₹47,900/person

6 Nights / 7 Days

Enchanting Sri Lanka: Culture, Hills & Coastline

Colombo(1N) → Sigiriya(1N) → Kandy(1N) → Nuwara Eliya(1N) &...

₹60,000/person

12 Nights / 13 Days

12 Nights & 13 Days Sri Lanka's Ramayana Tour Package

Negombo(1N) → Anuradhapura(1N) → Jaffna(1N) → Sigiriya(2N) ...

₹62,499/person

6 Nights / 7 Days

Discover Sri Lanka: 6-Night Heritage, Wildlife, and Coastal Adventure

Kandy(1N) → Nuwara Eliya(1N) → Yala National Park(1N) → Ben...

Sold By: GLOBAL VOYAGES IN...(4.9 )

₹48,360/person

5 Nights / 6 Days

Explore Sri Lanka: 5N/6D Tour Package

Kandy(1N) → Nuwara Eliya(1N) → Bentota(2N) → Colombo(1N)

₹36,989/person

5 Nights / 6 Days

Sri Lanka Hills, Safari & Beach Escape

Kandy(1N) → Nuwara Eliya(1N) → Yala(1N) → Bentota(1N) &rarr...

₹43,000/person

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More about Best Time to Travel to Colombo

Colombo in Dry Season (December to April)

Temperature: 23°C to 32°C.
Weather: The dry season, with occasional showers rather than sustained rain. Humidity is lowest in February. April is the hottest month and the last before the monsoon.
Crowds: The busiest and priciest months, peaking over Christmas and New Year.
Tip: The window for Galle Face Green at sunset, Mount Lavinia beach and walking Fort and Pettah before the heat builds.

Colombo in Southwest Monsoon (May to September)

Temperature: 26°C to 31°C, humid.
Weather: The southwest monsoon, heaviest in May and June. Rain usually arrives as a sharp afternoon burst that passes, not an all-day washout. June is the most humid month.
Crowds: Low, with the best hotel rates of the year.
Tip: Colombo takes rain better than the beaches do, so this is when the National Museum, Gangaramaya Temple, the Pettah markets and the food are the reason to be here. If you want a beach in these months, the east coast is dry.

Colombo in Inter-monsoon (October to November)

Temperature: 24°C to 30°C.
Weather: The second inter-monsoon, and a properly wet stretch: October is one of the two wettest months of the year, with thunderstorms and some cyclone risk off the Bay of Bengal. November eases towards the end.
Crowds: Low, and rates stay soft until mid-December.
Tip: Often mistaken for a shoulder season, but it is not a dry one. Keep outdoor plans flexible and treat late November as the turn into the good months.

Festivals and Events in Colombo

Duruthu Perahera, the January full moon. A procession at Kelaniya temple just outside the city, and the first big event of the Buddhist year.
Thai Pongal, mid-January. Tamil harvest festival.
Independence Day, 4 February. Parades and displays in the city.
Sinhala and Tamil New Year, 13 and 14 April. Much of Colombo closes and empties as people travel home.
Vesak Poya, the May full moon. Lanterns and free roadside food stalls across the city.

Note that Kandy’s Esala Perahera, in July or August, is in Kandy, not Colombo.

Best Time to Visit Colombo by Interest

City sightseeing, Fort and Pettah: December to April.
Mount Lavinia and the nearby beaches: December to April.
Museums, temples and food: any month, and the best use of a wet day.
A stopover before the hills or the south: December to April.
Lowest prices: May to November.
Wettest months: May and October.
Hottest month: April.