Sri Lanka · Western Province · Colombo
Slave Island, Colombo — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Slave Island, officially Kompanna Vidiya, is a Colombo suburb wrapped around Beira Lake, with Malay heritage and Company Roads at its centre.
About Slave Island
Where to stay in Slave Island
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Beira Lake sets the address. Company Roads carries most of the beds, a commercial run of hotels, shopping centres and street food stalls that puts a stay within reach of both the lake esplanade and Fort next door. The Malay heritage shows in the food.
Kompanna Vidiya is the official name, and Kampong Kertel and Kompanna Veediya attach to the same ground.
About Slave Island
What are the main landmarks in Slave Island?
The lake is the landmark. Beira Lake spreads through the middle of the suburb, and its esplanade draws walkers and loungers rather than ticket queues, since Slave Island keeps no monument list of its own. Company Roads supplies the rest.
Hotels, shopping centres and street food stalls line it, and the Malay heritage the quarter is known for reads more in its kitchens than in any building.
What is the history of Slave Island?
The suburb has carried several names. Javanam Quarters was the form used under Dutch rule, Kampong Kertel and Kompanna Veediya both stayed in use, and Kompanna Vidiya is the official name the quarter answers to. Malay heritage runs through all of them.
That inheritance is what Company Roads is known for, and it sits alongside Beira Lake and the Fort boundary in the short account the record keeps of Slave Island.
Where is Slave Island?
Slave Island adjoins Fort in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Beira Lake takes up much of the suburb's middle ground.
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More areas in Colombo
Updated September 2026