Sri Lanka overwhelms the senses. The air is heavy with the scent of jasmine, the food richly spiced and the landscape one of utter beauty; the radiant green rice paddies, forests of swaying palm trees and mountains puckered in tea plantations are utterly bewitching. But for many people Sri Lanka can be summed up in two simple words: the beach.
No matter what kind of beach bum you want to be, you’ll find a patch of palm-backed perfection here. You can book in for pampering at one of the island’s chic boutique beachside hotels, dive across glowing coral reefs, learn to surf on gentle sandbars, or merely toddle off to find your own little undiscovered corner of paradise.
Here’s our guide to the best of Sri Lankan beaches.
Tangalla
Lapped by lazy azure waters, the coconut-coloured beaches around Tangalla are hands down our favorite Sri Lankan bolt holes. Tangalla itself marks the dividing line between the picture-perfect tropical coves that dominate much of the southwest coast and the long, wave-lashed beaches that you’ll find in the southeast corner of the island.
Mirissa
Crack open a coconut, slip into a hammock and rock gently in the breeze. Of all the bigger Sri Lankan beach resorts, Mirissa is the favorite of many visitors. In general, this is a place for sitting and being rather than doing, but if you need a shot of adrenaline then Mirissa is the best base for a waterborne safari in search of blue whales, the largest living creatures on earth.
Read more: LonelyPlanet
Before you go to SriLanka please do some research on ethical tourism. Sri Lankan government killed 146,000 innocent civilians in 2009 war intentionally. The Sri Lanka regime is made of a family which controlled 75% of the finance of the country. First they oppressed Tamils, and killed thousands of them, killed atleast 35 journalists who reported government atrocities, then impeached the chief justice who opposed the power to transferred to the member of family of the president.
UN panel of Expert took witness statements from thousands of people and the report confirmed at least 40,000 people were killed. Sri Lankan government still refuses to bring the murderers to justice. Please do some research on Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UN panel of Expert, etc. YOUR MONEY WILL NOT GO TO THE POOR CITIZENS INSTEAD THE RAJAPAKSA FAMILY'S PERSONAL FUND.
If you go to somebody else's country, DON'T comment on their politics! Are your country's politics so perfect? And anyway it is none of your business – unless you make it so.
I think Bavani Dash openly supports one of the most ruthless terrorists outfits that existed in the world, the LTTE which had land, sea and most recently air capability. they killed scores of innocent civilians in Colombo by placing bombs and using suicide carders in trains and buses, They drove lorries packed with explosives to the central bank or Sri Lanka. They gunned down both local and foreign civilians at Sri Lankan's airport in the 1980's. They have killed thousands of innocent civilians and clergy who resided in 'border villages'. They had a functioning illegal judiciary, a police and their people were under 'military rule'. They killed moderate Tamil politicians who tried to work with the government of Sri Lanka to resolve issues politically and claimed they were the sole representatives of the Tamil speak people. They drove away thousands of Muslims from their areas and ethinically cleansed the North and the East of Sri Lanka which they claimed belonged only to the Tamils. The LTTE was the first to introduce suicide bombing to the world. They recruited underage children forcibly to their fighting forces and usually put them in the frontline. In 2009, the Sri Lankan armed forced managed to decimate the fighting forces and the leadership of the LTTE, regained control of the entire country and introduced normalcy. During that period the LTTE used civilians as a huma shield to protect its top leadership. After end of the war, there have been democratic election in the East and in September 2013 there will be democratic elections in the North where Tamil speaking people will get elected. The Sri Lanka Polic and the Army have recruited Tamil speaking civilians to the forces in a bid to brdige the gap. There have massive construction activities in all these regions that dwarf the development activities carried out in the rest of the country. Former LTTE carders have been rehabilitated, given vocational training and some have even got married to personnel in the Sri Lanka army. The entire north was full of mines and the government of Sri Lanka demined together with the help of many foreign countries including the US and resettled most displaced families, a humongous task. Folks like Bavani Dash who still live in the past must come and help their own people without living abroad, campaigning with false allegations in a bid to keep their refugee status. A status that was given to them considering the high time of the war and engulfed this beautiful nation for 30 years. Perhaps Bavani Dash has never been to Sri Lanka and have heard and seen propaganda made by the LTTE and their supporters. Sri Lanka now has a much better future now, its children have hope. Please do not post false allegations. the UN panel's report in its introduction states that the accounts given in the report may not be accurate, the number given by it should not be considered accurate.
I think Bavani Dash openly supports one of the most ruthless terrorists outfits that existed in the world, the LTTE which had land, sea and most recently air capability. they killed scores of innocent civilians in Colombo by placing bombs and using suicide carders in trains and buses, They drove lorries packed with explosives to the central bank or Sri Lanka. They gunned down both local and foreign civilians at Sri Lankan's airport in the 1980's. They have killed thousands of innocent civilians and clergy who resided in 'border villages'. They had a functioning illegal judiciary, a police and their people were under 'military rule'. They killed moderate Tamil politicians who tried to work with the government of Sri Lanka to resolve issues politically and claimed they were the sole representatives of the Tamil speak people. They drove away thousands of Muslims from their areas and ethinically cleansed the North and the East of Sri Lanka which they claimed belonged only to the Tamils. The LTTE was the first to introduce suicide bombing to the world. They recruited underage children forcibly to their fighting forces and usually put them in the frontline. In 2009, the Sri Lankan armed forced managed to decimate the fighting forces and the leadership of the LTTE, regained control of the entire country and introduced normalcy. During that period the LTTE used civilians as a huma shield to protect its top leadership. After end of the war, there have been democratic election in the East and in September 2013 there will be democratic elections in the North where Tamil speaking people will get elected. The Sri Lanka Polic and the Army have recruited Tamil speaking civilians to the forces in a bid to brdige the gap. There have massive construction activities in all these regions that dwarf the development activities carried out in the rest of the country. Former LTTE carders have been rehabilitated, given vocational training and some have even got married to personnel in the Sri Lanka army. The entire north was full of mines and the government of Sri Lanka demined together with the help of many foreign countries including the US and resettled most displaced families, a humongous task. Folks like Bavani Dash who still live in the past must come and help their own people without living abroad, campaigning with false allegations in a bid to keep their refugee status. A status that was given to them considering the high time of the war and engulfed this beautiful nation for 30 years. Perhaps Bavani Dash has never been to Sri Lanka and have heard and seen propaganda made by the LTTE and their supporters. Sri Lanka now has a much better future now, its children have hope. Please do not post false allegations. the UN panel's report in its introduction states that the accounts given in the report may not be accurate, the number given by it should not be considered accurate.
I was there… I had tea served in a skull of a dead Tamil. The gun shot hole made a great lip to drink the tea. I did not take my kids… over 800 REPORTED rape cases involving kids. My wife had no problems as she wore a Burka. I would recommend this experience to anyone.
Truly Bavani Dash is on a "special agenda" …that is "bash Sri Lanka at every turn" as vengeance for the loss of LTTE terrorist vampires from Sri Lankan territory. These kinds of Sri Lanka bashing is now getting boring…because we travelers just want to travel this Globe and see what the Globe is all about…we are interested in Sri Lanka's beaches, its mountains, and ancient history that has even been documented and World Heritage Sites (Sorry to disappoint you Bavani but those sites were designated as such long before your kind started "complaining" about Sri Lanka). I fail to see what Sri Lanka's so called human-rights record has anything to do with a tourist from Germany wanting to see the World Heritage Site Sigiriya in Sri Lanka – as much as I fail to see what a tourist from Japan who is yearning to see Niagara Falls NY has to worry about the US' "Drone attack" records in Iraq, Afghanistan etc. These pesky “special interest” busy-bodies have a tendency to hijack our right to travel and see this wonderful planet Earth of ours (a wish fo many of us before we die) , at our will, and as such we must fight these kinds of insidious plots – that have nothing do with Global Traveler interests – and move on! End of the story!
Over 800 cases of child rape in just 6 months alone. Don't forget that people seldom report rapes in Srilanka. Most rapes occurs in Hotels with the prior knowledge of the owners and in school buses.Rape is further used on the Tamil population as a weapon of war. Westerners are not immune to it… an aid workers girl friend was raped and then murdered in front of him for refusing to dance with a local gangster connected to a ruling politician. No justice has been done. Don't rely on the police. You will not be the UK or the US. Enjoy the trip and the Ceylon tea ethically served in a skull. Don't look down… you might be standing on a mass grave.
OMG, the pesky LTTE terrorist supporters who love to "harp on everything – that is ONLY once their terrorist darlings lost – Lock Stock & Barre – by cockily gong to war with the Sri Lankan armed forces" – this kind of cheap propaganda entity is not even a worry anymore – it is has just become a JOKE for us who just love to travel to all corners of this Earth!
What a JOKER you are – except your jokes are in in awful taste I must say. See, when you lament the LIQUIDATION of your LTTE terrorist darlings – who carried out horrific mayhem in Sri Lanka for over 25 years and finally got liquidated when they cockily went on a frontal-assault-war against the Sri Lanka defense forces – and you are out to bash Sri Lanka in vengeance for that loss, you really must stick to believable stories. Really what a JOKER you are! LOL
You should take to writing Dark Fairly Tales. Your kind of imagination can, indeed, be considered a gift in certain quarters! :))
Wall adverse comments are either from Tamils or their LTTE supporters who were the thorns in the development of the country for the past thirty years and continue to do so even now. They are so scared that Srilanka will get popular and spread all stories about corpses of Tamils and rape of Tamil women, the traitors who enjoy the best o things in the country. It is a problem in the breeding . Low class is always low. It is very difficult to expect anything better from them.
I don't understand why people is always in need to feed hate even when the topic is something natural and beautiful such as travelling. It's really disgusting reading certain stuff and it's really concerning that the net is full of them.
PS. Dear Mr. Jayasekara, being Tamil doesn't mean being terrorist by definition, there are also tamils against any kind of violence.
You are an exception I should have said most, sorry about that. I agree with you, why do people deviate in to ugly sides when natural beauty is praised.
The beaches in sri lanka are rubbish compared to maldives for example. If its a beach hoilday you want go somewhere else.
Mr Jayaseka. Why does it matter? Ethics matter. Ethics is one of the key factors when one decides to spend their hard earned money on holidays. That's why you have organisations such as Rainforest Alliance and Fair-trade. It is very important to inform any potential visitors of the reality for their own safety and to aid their decision making process. You term my comments as baseless, rather than being ignorance please read comments by Hilary Clinton, Harrison Ford (Still counting the dead) and please watch The Killing Fields by Channel 4 (UK). Furthermore, please look at what your 'peace keeping' troops did to the local population in Haiti. You raped the already traumatised mothers and daughters. You state that 'it is in the breeding.' Let's stick to the FACTS rather than attacking Tamils or Sinhala people. There are many other places with stunning natural beauty than Srilanka (based on my travels, passion for ethics and culture).
I can understand as you are one of the Francis Harrison. If you believe in all what she say just keep me out. Thanks.
Mr Jyasekera, I guess they have lots more people like you in Srilanka. Lets face it…. Srilanka is only good for sex tourism involving kids. This is deeply rooted within your culture. Blame the world, but you can't hide from the truth. I am looking forward to the UN Human Rights council meeting in March. I will converse with you then. In meanwhile enjoy the abuses…. Don't look down… you might be standing on a mass grave……
There is no medicine for your type, I pity you.
Dear Mr Jayaseka… I took my kids to the Killing Fields of Cambodia to teach them the affect of prejudice. The horror is that you can still see the bones and the cloths of the dead surfacing after all these years. In the beaches of Mulivaikal where you murdered over 100 thousand people, you have made it into a tourist attraction with a resort. I am not sure if you have seen the reports and horrific pictures of the bones and cloths resurfacing due to heavy rain on a much bigger scale. Hence, don't look down… you might be standing on a mass grave… FACT. It does not matter how much chemicals you use… you can not run away from the truth. If you call this a paradise… you are a frog in a Srilankan well. One thing for sure is that… Rest assured… that the people who believe in ethics and human rights will win the day. There will be justice and your Rajapaksa brothers will have the same ending as all the other dictators. We will talk again in March after the UN meeting. Don't look down… you might be standing on a mass grave…
I thought Tamil Diaspora said the civilian deaths were 150,000 plus. I am surprised you have brought it down to 100,000. Then again, that Australian who worked for the UN in Sri Lanka talked about an unofficial figure of 40,000 civilians. But Tamil officers who actually participated in a census taking has figured it as just 7,000.
Leela
Wish you all the best , do it with Clinton's , Francis Harrisonn etc, not Harrison ford he is an actor who is not involved in this crazy which hunt, take care. All the best again, if you are out side Srilanka we invite you for a new Srilanka without the barbaric LTTE.
Dear Bavani, this article about toursim not terrorism.. your statistic shows your real interest.. lets enjoy the sun n beach and leave rest to diplomats.. take care
keep on recomending.are u a song writer?
Lets misguide the whole world further,ha ha.LTTE daydreamers.come and enjoy the Sun instead of bullshit.
You need not have gone to Cambodia to teach your kids of the horrors of prejudice. There are enough pictures of Tamil Tiger Terrorist (LTTE) massacres of innocent Sinhalese (including women and children) and Sri Lankan Moslems (e.g. over 400 were AK-47'd when they were praying in a mosque once by the LTTE Tiger ) that you could have spread out on your dinner table and explained what each of those pics was, to achieve that same goal.
So, I am sure your "passion of ethics" kept you away from that part of Sri Lanka that was then ruled by the (now-liquidated) LTTE terrorists uh? After all, the recruitment of child soldiers at gun-point and shooting any Tamil parent who dared to object, putting a tire around the neck of any anti-LTTE Tamil, dousing it with gas/petrol and then setting fire to it (as a "lesson" for any other who might dare to question LTTE's writ), etc. etc. are not exactly works of fine ethics uh? Luckily for all Sri Lankans today that sort of questionable-ethic is a thing of the past!