Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia is a major suburb of Colombo, lying immediately south of the colombo city centre. It is also the largest suburb of Colombo. It is the result of certain key urban suburbs and communities combined for administrative purposes. The centres include Dehiwala and the beach resort of Mount Lavinia. Population (2001) 209,787. It is also home to Sri Lanka's National Zoological Gardens which remains one of Asia's largest. Dehiwala and Mount Lavinia lie directly south of Colombo 6 (Wellawatte) along the Galle Road artery which runs along the coast down to the south of the country.