Beach and undersea
Sri Lanka is blessed with a 1,330km coastline comprised of beaches-arrow-straight or curved within rocky bays – characterized by silvery-white sand and seaward – leaning, shade – giving coconut palms. On the west Negombo, Mount Lavinia, Bentota and Hikkaduwa, on the south coast Unawatuna, voted one of the 10 best beaches in the world by the Discovery channel, Weligama,Marissa and Tangalle, on the north – west coast Nilaveli, Passekudah, kalkudah and Arugam Bay, listed as one of the top 10 surf spots in the world, are a dozen of the island’s finest beach destinations. A bonus is that climate- wise Sri Lanka is a convenient year- round destination as it experiences tow monsoons that occour in opposite halves of the island at different times.
The tranquil, sapphire-blue waters (non-monsoon period) of the Indian Ocean have a perfect average temperature of 27c. Diving and snorkeling are popular as coral reefs encircle the island. Many spectacular fish species can be encountered- groupers,barracuda, manta rays,stingrays,sharks- and frive species of turtle. As the island was an ancient trade center there are many shipwrecks to explore, including tow historically-important modern examples,the first oil tanker, the shell-owned SS Conch,dunk in 1903, and the first purposes-built aircraft carrier, HMS Hermès,sunk by Japanese planes in 1942 as it sailed for Trincomalee, the fifth largest harbour in the world.
Popular water sports include surfing-American and Australian surfers discoverd the challenges of Hikkaduwa and Arugam Bay in the 1960s.
