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

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Around Galle

Maharagama near Kottawa. Buses run constantly
from 5am to 8pm.

CAR
Galle is an exit on the Southern expressway,
which ends at Matara (30 minutes). it takes about
75 minutes to travel from the Galle entrance to
Kottawa (the current northern terminus and a
short way northeast of Colombo). This saves
at least two hours compared to taking the road
along the west coast. Note that it can take up to
2½ hours to drive from Galle to Bandaranaike
i ternational Airport, but this will shorten as n
additional sections of expressway are opened.

TRAIN
The railway route along the coast from Colombo
Fort to Galle’s vaguely art-deco train station is
easily the most scenic and atmospheric way to
journey between the cities. There are up to 10
express trains a day and they take slightly over
two hours on the recently rebuilt tracks (2nd/3rd
class Rs 180/100). local trains serve hikkaduwa
(2nd/3rd class Rs 40/20, 30 minutes) and Mat-
ara (Rs 80/40, one to 1½ hours). There’s a daily
express to Kandy (Rs 320/175, 6½ hours).

Around Galle

The area around Galle is dotted with sights,
both religious and natural. You can easily visit
several in half a day by tuk-tuk.

Rumassala Peace Pagoda BUDDhiST
On the west end of the peninsula of the same
name, the Rumassala Peace Pagoda was built
by Japanese Buddhist monks of the Mahaya-
na sect in 2005, as part of their scheme to
build peace temples in war-torn places world-
wide (the Sri Lankan war was raging at the
time). The glistening white stupa is easily seen
from Galle Fort and can be reached via a nar-
row 1.6km road along the east end of the bay.
There is another built by the same monks in
Ampara, on the east coast.

Jungle Beach B eACh
One of those ‘secret’ spots it seems everyone
knows about, Jungle Beach is indeed reached
through a tropical forest at the east end of
Galle’s bay. The sand is good and there is
plenty of shade, along with a very basic cafe.
Most drivers know the spot; take the road to
Rumassala Peace Temple for about 1km and
look for the signs.

Kottawa Conservation Forest PARK
(Kottawa) Explore untouched jungle at this
14-hectare wet evergreen forest about 15km
northeast of Galle. There are walking tracks
in the forest, but first get permission from the

forest department office near the gate. Wear

good walking shoes and trousers: the leeches

are ravenous. Trees are identified with their

botanical names. In the small-sized park is a

swimming spot fed by a waterfall.

Yatagala Raja Maha Viharaya BUDDhiST

(donation Rs 100) Just 4km inland from Un-

awatuna, the Yatagala Raja Maha Viharaya

is a quiet rock temple with a 9m reclining

Buddha. The mural-covered walls are paint-

ed in the typical style of the Kandyan period.

Monks have been living here for at least 1500

years. You’ll seldom find crowds here, which

only adds to the appeal. As you ascend the

long flights of stairs, there are good views over

the rice fields.

Unawatuna

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Unawatuna is a cautionary tale for the rest of

Sri Lanka’s south coast. Where there was once

a flawless crescent of golden sand that swept

along a palm-lined shore with turquoise

waters that had just enough surf to make for

ideal swimming conditions, there is now one

of Sri Lanka’s less appealing beach towns.

The beautiful water is still there and you

can still find decent patches of sand, but in

several places greed has replaced good taste

and common sense. Bulldozers have pushed

huge boulders right up to and beyond the

high tide line, allowing for the construction

of some especially ugly hotels and cafes. Iron-

ically, authorities have actually enforced set-

backs on the west half of Unawatuna’s beach

and the result is much more salubrious.

Unawatuna makes for a good, quick beach

escape from Galle’s Fort: it’s only 6km south-

east. Otherwise it offers a cheap and cheerful

sandy idyll, at least on the bulldozer- and

boulder-free west end.

2 Activities

Most people spend a lot of their time lying

around the beach or slouching in cafes. The

small Buddhist temple at the west end of

the beach has a vigilant monk ready to chase

away anyone who is hoping to feign some pie-

ty in return for a shady rest.

Spas & Yoga

oYoga with Asiri YOGA

(%077 176 4662; 6 Wella Dewala Rd; sessions from Rs

1000) The namesake owner of this yoga studio

has become something of a legend with yoga