Southern Coast, Sri Lanka
March 2018
Our original plan after visiting the “Hill Country” was to head to the famous tea plantation area in the Central Highlands. Due to the unseasonable and extended rain and cool weather, we decided to bypass the higher elevation area and head directly to the Southern Coast. We both figured we’d be happier near the beach in a warmer climate even in the rain 🙂
We spent our remaining time in Sri Lanka around the Galle Fort, the Unawatuna beach area and the Dalawella beach area. We did have plans of traveling further along the Southern Coast, but the nearly daily torrential rain literally put a damper on our enthusiasm for packing up and moving further. We happened upon a nice, family run, reasonably priced guesthouse located right on the beach in Dalawella and decided to finish our remaining time in Sri Lanka relaxing.
See video and photos below highlighting our days in the Southern Coast of Sri Lanka. To see all images of this location click the link at the bottom of this post or go to our gallery.
Travel to Galle
In order to travel from Elkaduwa to Galle, we had an hour long Tuk Tuk ride combined with two separate and very different train rides.
Our first train ride from Kandy to Colombo was relaxing and peaceful – they sell and we purchased two reserved seats for this leg 🙂
Our second train ride from Colombo to Galle was jam packed with standing room only for 2-1/2 hours as they do NOT sell reserved seats on this leg. An added bonus is they never “sell out” of tickets for the train… The train station will continue to sell tickets as long as there are people willing to buy them regardless of whether there is room or not (note the ticket is NOT a seat on the train only a ticket to board and ride). We thought a train originating in Colombo (where we were boarded) would have a better chance of having seats available, but this was not the case – every seat was full before anyone in Colombo even stepped on. We were leary of even trying a train with no reserved seats in fear it would be packed full of people, pretty much exactly like it was!
We decided to try it and pushed our way on the train with all the others. We found ourselves standing amongst many other people and stacked luggage. In the end, we were glad we took the train as it turned out we met some really nice people who we ended up meeting for drinks and dinner later in Galle. Would we take another non reserved train ride in Sri Lanka? Probably not by choice…but, the experience was okay to try once 🙂
Video – Tuk Tuk & Train Ride (Elkaduwa to Kandy, Kandy to Colombo, Colombo to Galle).
First Train Ride (reserved seats)
Our comfortable and relaxing train ride from Kandy to Colombo.
Nice view from our reserved seats on our train from Kandy to Colombo.
Second Train Ride (NO reserved seats)
Rick standing in the middle of the aisle, his “spot” for nearly the entire train ride. It’s hard to tell from this photo, but all the seats are already full.
As if it wasn’t crowded enough… vendors then push their way up and down the aisle of all the train cars. They climb over anything in their way and do not care if it’s already full with no where to go – they somehow make their way up and down each car (several times) to sell their food.
Alisa’s 2-1/2 hour view out the train door. There was barely enough room to even board the train, and this was as far as I made it. Other than standing for several hours, this spot actually turned out to be okay as there was a nice breeze and a view of the ocean from here.
A few hours after arriving in Galle, we circled back with friends from our adventurous train ride. After enduring the cramped train for several hours, we all decided to meet for a few much needed ice cold beers and to continue our conversations.
Galle Fort, Sri Lanka
Construction of the Galle Fort started in 1589 by the Portuguese. The fort was later expanded by the Dutch following their siege of the city in 1640. This expansion completed in 1663 enclosed the whole of Galle’s sea-facing promontory, establishing the street plan and system of bastions that survive to this day. The entire fort area was a great place to walk around and spend a few days.
Black Fort tunnel used for transporting cannons to the wall.
Old jail cells at Black Fort.
Rick and Alisa at the Black Fort wall.
All Saints Church built in 1868.
Street view inside the Galle Fort walls.
Sunrise walk along the Galle Fort wall looking toward the Point Utrecht Lighthouse.
Galle Point Utrecht Lighthouse just after sunrise.
Galle Fort old gate built in 1669.
Closer view of the Galle Fort old gate built in 1669.
Galle Fort Northwest wall.
Rick and Alisa at the Northwest corner of Galle Fort.
Galle Fort West wall. One morning just after sunrise, we walked the entire perimeter of the fort wall while it was cooler and less crowded.
Small beach area on the outside of the Galle Fort wall.
Galle Fort Clock Tower.
Video – Galle Fort, Sri Lanka
Unawatuna & Dalawella, Sri Lanka
Unawatuna Beach Area
Unawatuna is a popular relatively crowded beach town not far from Galle. The narrow main street is packed with people, bicycles, scooters, tuk tuks, and cars all going in different directions. There are several very narrow side streets barely wide enough for one Tuk Tuk with some accommodations, restaurants, and other local shops and facilities. The beach itself is very big with a large variety of places to eat and drink and hang out…Unfortunately, most of the spots sit a ways up from the actual water and can get extremely hot with very little breeze. The town was funky and fun for a few days, but the beach area was much larger and more crowded than we usually like. Tons of very large tourists in WAY too small bathing suits…!!!
Our Tuk Tuk from Galle taking us to our Unawatuna guesthouse.
Our Tuk Tuk leaving after dropping us off…Notice the width of this side street – not much wider than his vehicle.
One of the many Sri Lankan torrential downpours. For this one, we happened to be at our dinner table inside this open air restaurant. This photo does not do justice to the amount of rain falling and water on the roadway. We’ve been caught outside in several similar downpours where umbrellas do little to keep you dry, luckily this time we were already under cover.
Panorama of the very large Unawatuna Beach. This photo is taken from one end of the beach and you can see the beach stretches all the way around the bay in the distance.
Another view of the very touristy and busy Unawatuna Beach. This day was relatively quiet, but other days there were tourists taking up every square inch of the sand.
Dalawella Beach Area
Dalawella was only a short Tuk Tuk ride from Unawatuna which made it convenient for us to visit prior to booking an accommodation. In our opinion, Dalawella Beach was much nicer than Unawatuna and overall was a more relaxed place to hang out. We were lucky to find a nice, family run guesthouse right on the beach with availability. There are many beaches in Sri Lanka where you need to be careful of the undercurrents in the water, Dalawella Beach can be one of those areas (we did witness one couple being rescued). Depending on the tide, you can wade out and jump in the waves in the shallow water or you can walk a short distance down the beach to a reef-protected swim area. Either option was nice when it was time for a dip. Dalawella was beautiful and a great place to hang out for several days to finish out our time in Sri Lanka.
The open air beachfront restaurant at our guesthouse at Dalawella Beach. The 9 rooms are to the side and directly behind the restaurant.
View from the guesthouse restaurant. Also our view every morning while having coffee and breakfast.
Some surfers catching waves directly in front of our guesthouse.
This reef protected swim area was only a couple minutes walk down the beach.
Rick on the beach directly in front of our guesthouse.
Looking East on Dalawella Beach at sunrise.
Looking West on Dalawella Beach at sunrise.
The local stilt fishermen are perched and working early morning. Once “planted”, their wood stick perches remain in the water. They wade out to them and simply climb up and down – simple for them 🙂 . They will sit for hours and catch fish daily which they sell in roadside stands.
A closer view of some of the stilt fishermen working. They were located only a few minutes walk to the west from our guesthouse.
Woody, the resident dog at our guesthouse.
Woody relaxing on the beach in front of the guesthouse.
Woody on the beach at sunset. He was very sweet and loved his home at the guesthouse. Every morning he’d stretch his legs by running up and down the beach – he provided some good entertainment while we had our morning coffee.
Video – Unawatuna & Dalawella, Sri Lanka
More Sri Lankan Food
As mentioned in our last post, the local Sri Lankan food is so flavorful and delicious. Here’s a few more of our favorite dishes.
Deviled fish and prawns over rice. The devil sauce is sweet and spicy and delicious.
Grilled prawns, chips, and salad with a sweet passion fruit dressing.
Fried noodles with mixed seafood.
Fresh whole grilled butterfish with a pineapple dressed salad.
Buffalo curd and local honey. This was one of our favorites.
Buffalo curd over fresh fruit and treacle drizzled on top (treacle is similar to honey).
