sri-lanka-13-full-pdf-ebook.pdf

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The Sou

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of happiness (the beachside setting and gor-
geous pool help out with this too). However,
some of the six rooms catch a little road noise.
The pool is vast and angles around the public
spaces. The beach is dreamy.


oWijaya iNTeRNATiONAl $$
(%228 3610; Galle–Matara Rd; mains from Rs 800;
h9am-11pm; W) The high-class option along
the coast, Wijaya is hugely popular with lo-
cal expats, who flock in for its pizza cooked
in wood-burning ovens. Many never quite get
past the dramatic views at this seaside loca-
tion just 2km east of Unawatuna. The bar is
skilled and the seafood specials also win raves.


4 Koggala

Koggala is home to a long, wide, but wave-
lashed stretch of beach. The road runs quite
close to the shore but most of the time it re-
mains just out of sight, hidden by the high
walls of estates.


The Fortress hOTel $$$
(%438 9400; http://www.thefortress.lk; Galle–Matara
Rd; r from US$280; aWs) From the outside
this vast place, with its high walls, looks ex-
actly like a prison. But inside you’ll find it’s
all wide open in the one direction it should
be: the sea. Revel in infinity pools, 53 chic
urban-style rooms with whirlpool baths and
rain showers, superb dining and more.


Midigama Ahangama &


% 091
The Ahangama and Midigama area are
home to the most consistent, and possibly


best, surf in Sri Lanka. It’s a very low-key
area with plenty of cheap surfer-friendly
accommodation and a scattering of pretty
beaches (though the road often runs very
close to the shore).

2 Activities
The first surf spot heading east is the consist-
ent beach break at Kabalana Beach, which
normally has something to ride even when
it’s tiny elsewhere.
In Midigama itself, a spicepot-sized
village built beside a curve of sand, there are
a couple of reef breaks. Lazy Left is the apt-
ly named wave that bends around the rocks
and into the sandy bay – it’s perfect for that
first reef experience. A few hundred metres
further down is Ram’s Right, a hollow, shal-
low and unpredictable beast. It’s not suitable
for beginners.
Note that the water covers loads of rocks,
coral and other hazards. Also, besides a few
guesthouses offering battered boards for
rent (Rs 600 to 1000 per day), there are no
places selling surf gear or offering repairs –
you’ll have to go to Hikkaduwa.

oSubodinee Surf School SURFiNG
(%077 765 9933; http://www.subodinee.com; off Galle–
Matara Rd, Midigama; two-hour course €30, three
courses €75) Yannick Poirier, a Frenchman, is
something of a local legend and runs one of
the better surf schools in the area, in con-
junction with the Subodinee Guesthouse.
He also has the best range of boards for hire
(from €10 per day).

HUNDUNGODA TEA ESTATE

Sri Lanka’s tea industry can seem like one vast outdoor factory, with workers toiling end-
lessly for little money to produce a product that’s been stripped of any cachet. That’s not
the case at the Hundungoda Tea Estate (%077 329 0999; http://www.virginwhitetea.com; off Katha-
luwa Rd; h8am-6pm), an exquisite tea plantation in the hills above Koggala, 6km inland via
Kathaluwa Rd from the Galle–Matara Rd near the 131km marker.
Here tea isn’t a commodity to be off-loaded in bulk to the highest bidder, rather it
is a simple indulgence to be savoured. Presiding over this small plantation is Herman
Gunaratne, one of the legends of the island’s tea industry. On a free one-hour tour you’ll
sample and learn how they produce more than 25 varieties of tea. Of these the most cov-
eted is Virgin White tea, a delicate brew made from the tiniest and newest leaves. Where
the average large plantation worker will pick 23kg of black tea in a day, the workers here
manage but 150 grams of the virgin white leaves. Be sure to pick up a copy of Gunaratne’s
autobiography, The Suicide Club: A Virgin Tea Planter’s Journey, which is a remarkably
entertaining and insightful read about his life, tea and Sri Lanka, from the waning days of
the British Raj to today.
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