Beaches in Sri Lanka

An island with two monsoons and therefore two beach seasons on opposite coasts, which is the single most useful thing to understand here and the most common mistake visitors make. From December to April the south and west work — flat water from Bentota round to Tangalle — and the east is closed; from May to September it reverses and Arugam Bay, Pasikuda and the Trincomalee coast open while the south turns to rough water and rain. The country is small enough to move between coasts in a day, which makes the monsoon far less of a problem than it first appears: when one side closes the other opens, and the drive between them is a few hours. The south coast carries the history — the Dutch fort at Galle, the stilt fishermen at Koggala — and the whale watching off Mirissa, where blue whales pass between December and April. Rip currents are a serious hazard on both coasts and lifeguard cover is thin outside the main resort beaches; drownings here are common and involve visitors every year. Turtle hatcheries operate along the south coast and are of widely varying quality, with the better ones releasing hatchlings the same night rather than holding them in tanks. Practically: trains along the southern coast are slow, cheap and the best way to see it, and the railway runs close enough to the sea for most of the route that the view is the point.

The two are different kinds of shore. Both sit on water a reef protects, and both are locally built. Together they account for 4.9 km of shore. · computed from the 2 records below