Top 15 · updated 2026
Best Bookshops in Colombo — New, Used & Rare Books
The top 15 bookshops & stationery in Colombo, ranked by real reviewer feedback.
- 15
- Bookshops & Stationery listed
- 4.8★
- Average rating
- 43
- Reviews aggregated
- Samudra Book
- Top-rated
Colombo has a well-established book-buying culture — from the flagship Sarasavi and Vijitha Yapa branches across Colombo 3, 5, and 7, where you can buy books across every genre, to the secondhand stalls of Maradana and Pettah that have supplied cheap second-hand books to Colombo readers for generations. Rare books in Sri Lanka are still found at specialist stores near Colombo Fort and the National Archives precinct, alongside academic titles not stocked by the mainstream chains. This list covers the best bookshops in Colombo for browsing and buying physical books — new, used, and imported — not stationery or school supplies (see our separate books-stationery page for that). Listings rank on range, stock reliability, and staff ability to source titles on request.
- 1
Samudra Book Shop - Colombo
4.8(5 reviews)Restaurants 1141 Maradana Rd, Colombo 00800
- 2
Jeya Book Centre
4.8(5 reviews)Restaurants Peoples Park Complexc, Bodhiraja Rd, Colombo 01100
- 3
Sarasavi Bookshop (Pvt) Ltd
5.0(3 reviews)Restaurants 44/9 Y.M.B.A. Building
- 4
Maradana Secondhand Bookshops
5.0(3 reviews)Restaurants 9, 11 McCallum Rd, Colombo 00010
- 5
Booxworm - Book Shop
5.0(3 reviews)Restaurants 149, 2 Kolonnawa Rd, Colombo 00900
- 6
Windsor Book Shop
4.6(5 reviews)Restaurants 372 Galle Rd, Colombo
- 7
Godage Book Shop
5.0(2 reviews)Restaurants No:661 P De S Kularatne Mawatha, Colombo 01000
- 8
Rohan’s Book Store
5.0(2 reviews)Restaurants Liberty Plaza, Colombo
- 9
Missaka Bookshop
5.0(2 reviews)Restaurants Thimbirigasyaya Rd, Colombo 00500
- 10
Vijitha Yapa Bookshop
4.7(3 reviews)Restaurants 105 5th Ln, Colombo 03
- 11
Peters Bookshop
4.7(3 reviews)Restaurants No1/2, McCallum Rd, Colombo
- 12
DANIEL’S BOOKSHOP (PVT) LTD
4.5(2 reviews)Restaurants 287 Galle Rd, Colombo 00600
- 13
Back to the Bible Bookshop
4.5(2 reviews)Restaurants 120A Srimath Anagarika Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 00700
- 14
Thunmansala Bookstore | Thunmansala.lk
4.5(2 reviews)Restaurants NHDA Building, No.20/1 Norris Canal Rd, Colombo 01000
- 15
Second-hand book shops of Colombo
5.0(1 review)Restaurants WVG6+WH6, McCallum Rd, Colombo 01000
Frequently asked
- What's the highest-rated bookshop in Colombo?
- Samudra Book Shop - Colombo is currently the highest-rated bookshop in Colombo on Review Guru, with an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars from 5 reviews.
- Which bookshop in Colombo has the most reviews?
- Samudra Book Shop - Colombo is the most-reviewed bookshop in Colombo with 5 customer reviews. A higher review count typically means a more reliable signal — a 4.5★ rating from 50 reviewers is stronger than a 5★ rating from 3.
- How many bookshop are listed in Colombo?
- Review Guru has 15 bookshop listed in Colombo, aggregating 43 customer reviews across them. We only include a business on a "best of" page once it has at least 3 reviews so the ranking is meaningful.
- How are these bookshop ranked?
- We use a Bayesian-weighted average score that combines the business's own star rating with the volume of reviews it has received. This prevents a single 5-star review from outranking 30 consistent 4-star reviews. Read more on our methodology page.
- Are the reviews verified?
- Reviews on Review Guru come from two sources: native submissions written directly on our platform, and imported reviews from Google Maps that we rewrite for clarity while preserving the original rating, sentiment, and named entities. Source is tagged on each review for transparency.
- Which Colombo bookshops sell second-hand and used books?
- Second-hand books in Colombo are concentrated in two zones: the open-air stalls along Maradana Road and the Pettah side streets near Main Street, where used paperbacks and older academic titles are cheapest, and a handful of dedicated used-book shops in Colombo 3 and 7 with more curated stock. For cheap second-hand books Colombo buyers favour the Maradana stalls for fiction, older Sinhala-medium textbooks, and bulk school novels. If you want a specific used title rather than browsing, call a listed store first — stock turns over quickly and isn't always catalogued online. Prices for good-condition used paperbacks typically range from LKR 100–400.
- Where can I find rare and imported books in Colombo?
- The widest range of imported books in Colombo is at the flagship branches of Vijitha Yapa and Sarasavi in Colombo 3 and 7 — both stock imported fiction, children's books, and some undergraduate academic titles. For academic books in Sri Lanka, these two chains are the most reliable first stop, though depth varies by subject and the most specialist titles — graduate-level texts, professional references, out-of-print academic works — may need to be ordered. Secondhand stores around Maradana occasionally surface rare and vintage editions at well below import prices. For books not in stock locally, several listed stores will source on order from India or the UK with a deposit.
- Do Colombo bookshops offer online ordering or click-and-collect?
- To order books online, Colombo-based options include Vijitha Yapa's web store, which offers delivery within Colombo with same-week dispatch for in-stock titles, and the Kapruka marketplace, which aggregates stock from multiple city stores and provides reliable same-day or next-day delivery within Colombo. Sarasavi also operates an online catalogue. Most stores accept WhatsApp enquiries for stock checks and informal title reservation — the practical equivalent of click-and-collect at most Colombo bookshops. For school-season orders (December–January), placing an online order or reserving by WhatsApp is advisable as high-demand titles sell out quickly at physical stores.