On the water
Learning to surf at Weligama
A long, forgiving beach break and a great many surf schools
Destination
Unawatuna
A sheltered bay ten minutes from Galle Fort
Unawatuna 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
Unawatuna is a curved bay ten minutes east of Galle Fort, protected by a reef at its mouth, which means the water inside is calm when much of the south coast is not. That single fact is why it became the most popular beach on this stretch, and why it is still worth using despite being busier than it once was.
The bay took heavy damage in the 2004 tsunami and the rebuilding since has been dense — restaurants sit close to the water and the sand narrows at high tide. Go in with that expectation and it is a fine place; go expecting an empty tropical cove and it is not.
Swimming and snorkelling
The reef keeps the bay swimmable through the dry season, and the eastern end has decent snorkelling straight off the beach — reef fish, the occasional turtle grazing the seagrass. Visibility is best in the morning before the water is stirred up.
There are dive schools here running trips to wrecks off Galle, including a British steamer and a couple of more recent hulls.
Jungle Beach and the pagoda
A twenty-minute walk over the headland at the western end brings you to Jungle Beach, a much smaller cove that is quieter than the main bay. The path passes the Japanese Peace Pagoda, a white stupa built by Nipponzan-Myōhōji, which has the best view along this coast — the whole bay one way and Galle Fort the other.
Go late in the afternoon for both.
Where it fits
Unawatuna works as the beach half of a Galle stay: the fort in the late afternoon, the bay in the morning. It is two hours from Colombo on the expressway, forty minutes from Mirissa, and about three from Yala.
If you want somewhere quieter with the same convenience, Dalawella and Thalpe are a few minutes further east and considerably calmer.
When to go
November to April. Outside that the south-west monsoon puts a real swell into the bay and the reef stops being enough shelter.
What to see in Unawatuna
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The bay itself
Reef-protected and swimmable through the dry season, when much of the south coast has a dumping shorebreak.
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Snorkelling off the eastern end
Reef fish and turtles grazing seagrass, straight off the sand. Best before the water is churned up.
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Japanese Peace Pagoda
A white stupa on the headland with the best view on this coast — the bay one way, Galle Fort the other.
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Jungle Beach
A small cove past the pagoda, quieter than the main bay and reachable on foot.
Things to do in Unawatuna
Questions we get asked about Unawatuna
Yes, with a caveat. The bay was badly damaged in 2004 and the rebuilding has been dense, so restaurants sit close to the water and the sand is narrow at high tide. The swimming is genuinely good because of the reef; the setting is busier than the photographs suggest.
Unawatuna for calm swimming and proximity to Galle Fort; Mirissa for whale watching and a wider beach. They are forty minutes apart, and a lot of trips use Unawatuna as the base and drive over for the whale boat.
Yes, through the November to April dry season — the reef across the mouth of the bay keeps the water calm when much of the south coast is not swimmable. During the south-west monsoon the swell gets in and it is a different beach.
On foot, about twenty minutes over the headland at the western end of the bay, passing the Japanese Peace Pagoda. Tuk-tuks will take you round by road, but the walk is the better version and the pagoda view is the reason.
Start here
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