Table of Contents
- What are the 10 Things To Do On the West Coast Of Sri Lanka?
- What are the most popular tours from the west coast of Sri Lanka?
- What is the best time to visit the west coast of Sri Lanka?
- 1. Bentota on Beautiful Beaches
- 2. Relax in a Cool Place
- 3. Try surfing
- 4. Go on whale watching
- 5. Meet the Locals
- 6. Go to a Beach Bar Crawl
- 7. Exploring the Pettah market
- 8. Madu River Safari
- 9. Visiting Lunu ganga (Bawas garden)
- 10. Eat Achchcaru and Hoppers as CNN recommends
What are the 10 Things To Do On the West Coast Of Sri Lanka?
Tropical island Sri Lanka and its wide sandy beaches always look delightfully appealing to travellers. West coast beaches are the most appealing for sun, sea and sand, therefore I thought of making this article under the title “10 Things To Do On the West Coast Of Sri Lanka”.
West coast beach resorts such as Bentota, and Negombo are very popular among foreign travellers for short vacations such as 1-day Sri Lanka tours, 2 days Sri Lanka tours, as well as Sri Lanka, relaxing trips such as 7 days Beach holiday packages and 2 weeks Sri Lanka trips.
So escape the bustling cities of the island and head into the west to share some wonderful experiences with other beach holiday lovers. If you are a fun-loving character and fascinated by fun cocktail bars, restaurants, discos, and beach parties you are well on the way to enjoying yourself. On the other hand, if you enjoy having sun, sea and sand in a calm atmosphere and pat yourself with freedom, still there are many unpopulated beaches around the corner.
Water sports are some of the favourites of travellers who spend their holidays on the west coast. There is a large number of places that provide recreation facilities on the west coast of Sri Lanka. You will discover a haven for surfing, kite-surfing, snorkelling, canoeing, diving and fishing. Whale-watching trips allow you easy access to blue whales and dolphins off the coastal belt of southwest Sri Lanka.
West coast Sri Lanka harbours a large number of historical and cultural monuments. Some of the historical places are more than many thousands of years old. Same time there are many other historical places that are closely related to Colonial heritage E.g Galle Dutch Fort, which is world-renowned as the best-preserved Dutch colonial fort in Asia.
Gngatilaka vihara, Kande vihara, and Gangarama temple are the most popular Buddhist temples on the west coast of Sri Lanka. All of them attract a large number of Buddhist devotees as well as foreign travellers.
What are the most popular tours from the west coast of Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanak tour operators such as Seerendipity tours offer a large number of activities and tours for travellers. And there is a big demand for tour packages from the west coast of Sri Lanka, this is mainly due to the fact that most travellers choose west coast beach resorts for their leisure holidays package in Sri Lanka. Most travellers have booked the beach hotel for their whole stay in Sri Lanka, therefore, most of them are reluctant to go for multi-day tour packages. Thereby they would lose money. Therefore, most travellers on beach tours on Sri Lanak west coast opt for one-day tours. Here are the 6 most popular one-day tours starting from Colombo and 400+ beach resorts on the west coast sri Lanka.
1. West coast Sri Lanka>>Udawalawe
Udawalawe one-day tour is a wildlife tour that allows you to see a wide range of wild animals roam freely in the national park of Udawwalawe. Udawalawe national park is tucked away deep on the west coast of Sri Lanka and travellers from the west coast of Sri Lanak are able to reach it within 2 hours drive. The wildlife tour lasts between 3-4 hours. Apart from teh safari, the travellers are able to witness the feeding of orphan jumbos, who visit Udawalawe transit camp on regular basis to get their portion of milk.
2. West coast Sri Lanka>>Sinharaja rainforest
One of the most popular attractions on the west coast of Sri Lanka. This rainforest has the highest biodiversity in Sri Lanka. This biodiversity hotspot is a popular one-day trip location for beach holiday lovers on the west coast, due to the short drive from most hotels on the west coast of Sri Lanka. The rainforest hike lasts around 4 hours and the travellers are provided with a nature guide to help them with the information they need during the trip.
3. West coast Sri Lanka>>Sigiriya rock fortress
The iconic tourist attraction of Sigiriya is perhaps the most popular tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. There is a very high demand for this one-day trip from Colombo and other hotels on teh west coast. The private tour starts early morning (at 05.00 hrs) from the west coast hotels and Colombo. The hike at Sigiriya rock lasts between 2-3 hours. This one-day trip also includes the Minnerisya safari as well as a guided tour of the Dambulla golden temple.
4. Sri Lanka west coast>>Mirissa (whale watching)
Mirissa is located in southern Sri Lanka. The one-day tour to Mirissa is for travellers, who wish to take a closer look at blue whales. The sea off Mirissa is considered one of teh best places in teh world for whale watching due to a large gathering of residents and migrated whales. The whale-watching tour can also be combined with other activities such as the Galle fort walking tour, the Madu river safari and a spice/herbal garden visit.
5. West coast Sri Lanka>>Galle
The travellers from teh beach hotels on teh west coast and Colombo take this one-day tour in order to explore the Galle fort. Galle fort is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of teh most popular tourist attractions in southern sri Lanka.
6. West coast Sri Lanka>>Bentota tour
Bentota is the most popular beach resort on the island and more than half of beach holiday lovers anchor here every year. There are many interesting places in Galle to explore such as the Madu river estuary, the Mask museum, the Sea turtle conservation project, the Moonstone mines, the spice/herbal garden, and the Kande ViahraBuddhsit temple.
What is the best time to visit the west coast of Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka is under the influence of the monsoon and therefore Sri Lankan climate varies depending on the monsoon pattern. Sri Lanka has 6 months changing weather pattern, in which the west coast gets heavy rain from May to October, while the east coast gets heavy rain from monsoon wind from May to October. Usually, November to April considered being the best time to travel to visit the west coast of Sri Lanka.
1. Bentota on Beautiful Beaches
You will get the perfect image of the beaches that are mostly described in travel brochures. Wide, snow-white, clean, palm-fringed, beaches with access to warm, crystal-clear water. A perfect place for sun-worshipers to include in their Sri Lanka road trip. Pull out a sun lounger from the rack and just lie down and relax under the clear sky.
There is a well-developed setup for travellers here, therefore you are not short of beach restaurants and beach bars. Sip an arrack cocktail under the sun and see how fast you get the tan-coloured skin. It is highly advisable to apply some sunscreen in order to avert any sunburns.
2. Relax in a Cool Place
If you are with a family, you may like to have some privacy for the members of the family. There are many cosy small family villas enabling you to enjoy the privacy of these tropical beaches. You are not far from the beach. West coast beaches are the perfect place for enjoying the sprawling sun rays while having a relaxed atmosphere around you.
3. Try surfing
The west coast, especially in Narigama, is surfing crazy. Reserve several days of your holiday to learn how to surf properly and I guarantee you will never want to leave it. It may be tough to maters the art of surfing but some knowledge of it is enough to enjoy this fascinating sport. If you are already an expert in surfing, you have the opportunity to take part in surfing contests that are participated in by many giant figures in the surfing world.
4. Go on whale watching
Look upon the surface of the Indian Ocean off southwest Sri Lanka, you will find yourself surrounded by blue whales and dolphins. Deep waters off Mirissa are ranked among the region’s best places for whale watching. This part of the ocean is inhabited by a large number of resident whales and is frequently visited by migrating whales from the Arabian Sea.
Therefore whale sighting is very common in the area. Today, whale watching is offered as day excursions and it is just a matter of 2 hours boat ride in order to encounter these endangered marine animals.
5. Meet the Locals
Tourism is a leading foreign exchange earner for the island. Sri lank known to have totally different cultures, traditions and customs compared to many western countries. In order to experience real local life, you need to have a walk around the hotel.
A short walk inland exposes you to the real Sri Lankan village life. See the simple charming life of Sri Lankan villages. These people have managed to retain their authentic village life despite the influence of the tourism industry. Take part in a village tour in Sri Lanka to learn about the various cottage industries, fishing methods and farming practices of the local community.
6. Go to a Beach Bar Crawl
There is no other place to observe the sunset as good as on the beaches of the West coast of Sri Lanka. Look out over the Indian Ocean with an arrack cocktail in your hand. All the restaurants and hotels are built with a corner that provides a clear view of the Ocean. Arrack is the most popular alcoholic beverage on the island and is consumed as a mixture of Soda, water, other cool drinks or fruit juices.
7. Exploring the Pettah market
Embarking on a Sri Lanka tour to explore Colombo, which is the best way to explore the city of Colombo and the Pettah market. The main market of Colombo better known as Pettah is the most popular shopping corner on the island to buy fresh groceries and produce, clothing, leather products, electronic equipment, Ayurveda products and much much more.
Colombo day trips are trendy among travellers, most importantly the Colombo walking tour. Pettah is also popular as a great place for launching with many cafes, restaurants and top-rated hotels. Less evident to the travellers is the long history of Pettah as a market- dating back to many hundred years, which was frequented by traders from Arabian, China, India and many other countries in the early 1500s.
8. Madu River Safari
Madu safari is one of the very popular activities among travellers that spend a beach holiday on the western and southern coast. Madu River is one of the most important wetlands on the west coast of Sri Lanka and is protected under the Sri Lankan environment protection act. Madu river estuary is a Ramsar wetland and has global recognition as an important natural habitat.
The visitors can travel on the waters of the Madu Rivers for more than 10 kilometres while exploring the valuable and rare mangrove forest. In some places, you have the opportunity to penetrate through the mangrove bays, which have a huge hollow within making a shape of a tunnel, due to the hollow inside the travellers can penetrate the mangrove bay.
It will be a novel experience for most travellers to travel through a natural tunnel formed by mangroves and other trees and plants in the waters of the Madu River.
Madu river safari allows you to explore the fragile ecosystem of mangroves and their allies. This ecosystem is mainly comprised of various types of mangrove trees and plants, many aqua bird species, water monitors, monkeys, and various fish species.
9. Visiting Lunu ganga (Bawas garden)
Jeffrey Bawa is a Sri Lankan-born architect, who had a massive impact on landscaping and architecture in Sri Lanka. In fact, his impact was gone beyond the borders of Sri Lanka and shown up in many places in southeast Asia. His expertise is seen in many large-scale and important constructions such as the Parliament building, Kandalama Hotel, Lighthouse hotel, and Bluewater hotel. Lunu Ganga is his own private labour of love and he has poured a lot of love and attention into this garden. The garden is in unique many ways and he carefully personalized it to meet his taste. After his demise, the entire property of Lunu Ganga was taken under Bawa trust and they are under the purview of Bawa trust. Bawa garden is spread over 25 acres and is located bordering the Bentota river. Bawa’s garden was a testing ground for his many innovative ideas before he introduce them to the real world. Now the garden is open to visitors, in fact, the visitors can have a guided tour across the Bawas garden to learn about the fascinating features of the garden. Visiting Lunu Ganga allows you to get a clear picture of the life, work, and taste of this veteran architecture
Jeffrey Bawa was very enthusiastic about the paintings; therefore, he collected paintings and used them to beautify his house. A large number of murals are scattered in the garden while beautiful paintings and batik decorate the walls of the buildings. Especially the guest rooms are full of wonderful paintings. Jeffrey Bawa was associated with internationally known artists like Lee Mingwei and Kengo Kuma and he was enjoying their company. His friends have also contributed a lot of various materials such as sculptures to decorate his garden, and these items are dotted all over the gardens, as well as within the building. Just in front of his office, the visitors can witness a small rectangular table and 2 chairs placed in the garden bordering Bentota Lake. This place has a very nice view and is shaded by huge trees. This place had been the favourite place of Jeffrey Bawa for lunch. The visitors can see a bell hanging next to the table, which had been used to get the attention of his staff. Visiting Lunu Ganga is undoubtedly a very surreal experience for anyone; it makes you feel about the energy and vibe of this place. This garden has a remarkable calm and peaceful atmosphere and it has a brilliant natural charm. This beautiful garden is a massive property and you need many days to explore it, but a small tour of the garden and the buildings is enough to get a clear picture of the charming lifestyle of this well-known architecture.
10. Eat Achchcaru and Hoppers as CNN recommends
Hoppers and Achcharu, two all around cherished food varieties from Sri Lanka, has been added by the CNN to a rundown of ’50 must-attempt, much-adored road food varieties and refreshments in Asia’.
This is the what CNN had said about the two local favourite picks, in its line up of food varieties in alphatical order.
Achcharu, Sri Lanka
Pickles get a Sri Lankan touch with achcharu — sweet, harsh and zesty salted products makes an ideal street food item.
Prepared with local flavors, spices, turmeric, sugar and salt, the offering will depending upon the area and seasons — it may be Ceylon olives (veralu), wood apple, pineapple, ambarella, mango, jackfruit or eggplant.
Hoppers, Sri Lanka
Awaken and smell the appa (additionally called aapa or appam) in Sri Lanka!
Believed to have started over in southern India about 2000 years ago, appa, or hoppers, are produced using fermented rice flour and coconut milk batter cooked like a crêpe in a little wok. This technique makes a bowl-like shape that is somewhat thicker and spongier at the base while remaining fresh on the edges.
Plain hoppers and egg hoppers (a plain container with a delicate bubbled egg in the center) normally accompany chutney, coconut sambal and frequently a scope of curry dishes.