Wildlife
A sea turtle hatchery at Kosgoda
Eggs incubated, hatchlings released at dusk
Destination
Bentota
A river, a beach and two Bawa gardens
Bentota at a glance
- Best months
- November to April
- Time needed
- Two or three nights
- From Colombo
- 2h from Colombo
- Entry
- Free
- Monsoon side
- South and west coast
- Region
- South Coast
Bentota sits where the Bentota Ganga meets the sea, two hours down the expressway from Colombo, which makes it the first proper beach most visitors reach. It has been a resort since the 1960s and it shows — this is the developed end of the south-west coast, with large hotels and a long stretch of sand.
What lifts it above being simply convenient is the river, the turtles and the two gardens.
The river
The estuary and the mangrove channels behind the beach are where Bentota’s watersports happen — jet skis and banana boats at the noisy end, and quiet boat trips through mangrove tunnels at the other. A morning river safari turns up monitor lizards, water birds and, in the right channels, mangrove that closes overhead.
It also means Bentota has calm water on days when the sea is rough, which matters on a family trip.
Kosgoda turtle hatchery
Twenty minutes south at Kosgoda is a sea turtle conservation project running since 1988. Eggs collected from the beach are incubated, and the hatchlings released. It is open from about 8.30am to 5.30pm with releases in the evening around 6.30.
A word of caution: several outfits along this coast call themselves hatcheries and keep adult turtles in concrete tanks for visitors to handle. That is not conservation. A good project releases hatchlings within days and does not keep animals on display for years — ask before you pay, and we will take you to one that does it properly.
The Bawa gardens
Two of the most important gardens in South Asia are within half an hour. Lunuganga was Geoffrey Bawa’s country estate and the place where he worked out the architecture that defines modern Sri Lanka — it is now open to visitors and is worth a slow hour. Brief Garden, his brother Bevis’s, is smaller, stranger and more personal.
Neither is on most itineraries. Both should be.
When to go
November to April, in line with the south-west coast’s dry season. From May to September the monsoon brings rough seas and the beach is not at its best, though the river trips still run.
What to see in Bentota
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Bentota river safari
Mangrove channels behind the beach, with monitor lizards, kingfishers and tunnels of overhanging root.
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Kosgoda turtle hatchery
Running since 1988. Eggs incubated and hatchlings released, with evening releases around 6.30pm.
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Lunuganga
Geoffrey Bawa's country estate, and the garden where modern Sri Lankan architecture was worked out.
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Brief Garden
Bevis Bawa's smaller, stranger garden — sculpture, hedges and a great deal of personality.
Things to do in Bentota
Questions we get asked about Bentota
Yes, and better than most of the south coast for it. The river gives you calm water when the sea is rough, the turtle hatchery is a genuine highlight for children, and it is only two hours from the airport road — which matters on day one with tired kids.
One that releases hatchlings within days rather than keeping adult turtles in tanks for visitors to hold. Several places along this coast do the latter and call it conservation. Kosgoda's long-running project is the one we use; ask us and we will explain the difference before you book.
About two hours on the southern expressway, or two and a half in traffic. That makes it the closest genuine beach to the airport and a common first or last stop, though Negombo is closer still if you only need somewhere to sleep off a flight.
November to April, the dry season on the south-west coast. From May to September the monsoon brings rough seas and heavy afternoon rain. River trips and the gardens still work in the wet months, and prices drop considerably.
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