The South Travel Guide

As well as containing many excellent beach resorts such as Tangalle and Hambantota, the sourthern region of Sri Lanka is alive with culture and releigous activity. Sites to visit include Werehena temple near Matara with a five storey building enclosing a buddha staue filled with comic strips of the Buddh's life and Kataragama where the Lord Kataragam, an incarnation of the Hinddu wargod Skanda, is worshipped.

Unawatuna Photo Gallery

Festivals in Unawatuna

Wella Devalaya Esala festival in Unawatuna would be held in July 2008 starting from Thursday 17th Esala Full Moon day.
It will go on for one week.
A mini Perehara would be held on the first day by the children of the Dham pasala [Sunday school]., a more grandoise Perehara organized by Perakum Sport Club on behalf of the Festival Committee would be organized featuring Elephants, Dancers etc on 18th July.

During this week Unawatuna takes on a very festive mood with both sides of the village Road lined with shops selling almost everthing imaginable from Brassware to flowers, cloths, food, sweet.

And the Wella Devala Road becomes so clogged that its no longer possible to motor down this road, however one can take the Bounevista route to get to Yaddehimulla area.

Th whole area is lt up with multi coloured jetlights.

Life savers, students from Richmond and Mahinda College as well as the Sri Lanka Navy are in attendance.


The festival ends with the offering of KIRI DANA to deities and devotees on the last day.


Contributors
March 12, 2007 change by giorgio

Unawatuna Travel Guide

Unawatuna is the favorite chilling place for frequent Independent travelers. Year after year they keep coming back. Unawatuna is just four kilometer further south down Route A2 from the dutch fortress city of Galle.

Unawatuna first became popular with the flower children who came to Sri Lanka from Indian beaches like Goa, and other places like Pondicherry to enable them to get fresh visas to get back to India.

Most homesteads in the area opened up their homes to the foreigners as they brought in an extra income, however paltry its was, the rooms without any facilities fetched about Ten Rupees, a princely sum when a Dollar was a mere Seven Fifty.

Over the year the clientele as well as the guesthouses changed and today it boasts of boutique style villas, some owned by foreigners, very few of the places have Sri lanka Tourist Board accreditation., just one Hotel, few "A" grade Guest houses, mostly "B" grade places and three Heritage Home classified villas.

There is more shoe string and back-packer joints, a host of beach front restaurants that has taken away the charm of the world reknown beach that was often in the TOP TEN beaches of the world.

yet for all this changes Unawatuna still retains some mystic charm that still draws the beach combers to this laid back sleepy old village.

Colombo Travel Guide

Colombo is the place where Sri Lanka’s hustle and bustle takes place. Although it is the biggest city in Sri Lanka, this is the place where the commercial heart beats and where you can see some of the tallest buildings in Asia. In the northern part of the city is the fort area, where you can find the British fort, dating from the 19th century, and other remnants of the former colonial power. When you set off for Galle, which was the capital city when the Dutch ruled before the British invaded the Pearl of the Orient, you can visit the world heritage fort complex.

Sri Lanka Photo Gallery

Budget Travel Ideas in Sri Lanka

Empty line-ups, 80°F warm water, a tropical surf camp directly by the beach under palm trees and a pool with a view to a world-class surf spot. A surf myth? No, that is Sri Lanka.

Far away from mass surf tourism that developed during the last decade in other countries, we are offering surf lessons for small groups with individual coaching, no matter if you are a beginner or an advanced surfer. Part of the package is a guaranteed relaxing time – maybe that is exactly what makes us so special!

Located on a deserted part of the beach, our camp offers five spacious, individually decorated, cozy rooms in two bungalows.
The main bungalow is housing a double room with a private bathroom and the so-called surf commune, consisting of two additional rooms with two twin beds in each and a shared bathroom – ideal for single travelers and a maximum of four people.
In the neighboring bungalow are two spacious double rooms with king-size beds and individual bathrooms. Since life in the tropics rarely happens indoors, an additional highlight is the roomy patios located in front of the rooms with a view to a beautiful large garden and the ocean.
Meals are served in our outdoor pavilion by the pool that offers the nicest views to the entire property and to a world-class surf break. A loungy couch corner in the garden offers an ideal spot for a sun downer in with fellow travelers