The Southern Province of Sri Lanka is a small geographic area consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. The region is economically backward compared to the Western province, where the capital Colombo is situated. Subsistence farming is the main source of income for the vast majority of the people of this region. A St Marys Cathedral in Galle Galle (pronounced as one syllable, rhyming with Gaul) is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 116km from Colombo. ... Hambantota is a district in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. ... The western province is the most densely populated part of Sri Lanka. ... For the American televison series see Columbo. ...

The more educated people of the province have been slowly migrating to Colombo, which has hindered industrial development of the region. For the American televison series see Columbo. ...

Landmarks

Important landmarks of the Southern Province include the wildlife sanctuaries of the Yala and Uda Walawe National Parks, the holy city of Kataragama, and the ancient cities of Tissamaharama, Kirinda and Galle. (Although Galle is an ancient city, almost nothing survives from before the Portuguese invasion.) Yala National Park, also known as Ruhuna, is an important national park on the south east coast of Sri Lanka. ... Uda Walawe National Park is an important national park in the south of Sri Lanka. ... In 1966 the German scholar Paul Wirz observed in his book Kataragama, the Holiest Place in Ceylon, One could say that all religions are represented in Kataragama and that all are getting on well with each other. ... A St Marys Cathedral in Galle Galle (pronounced as one syllable, rhyming with Gaul) is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 116km from Colombo. ...

The Southern Province was seviouly affected by the Tsunami in 2004. The province is going through a rebuilding process.