☰
Unawatuna is located 140 km south of Colombo along the Southern coastal belt of Sri Lanka, 5km south of the seaport of Galle.
Unawatuna beach is a picturesque semi circular bay beach that stretches no more than one kilometer. As the numerous other fine beaches in the south western and southern coast line of Sri Lanka, Unawatuna too is fringed by lush groves of coconut palm trees. However it has a rare geographical occurrence: on either end of the bay you can see headlands.
And on the headland to the northwest makes an exceptionally scenic and rare spectacle; a gleaming white great globe of a dagoba.
Protected by a double reef over the bay creates a natural pool that makes the bay safe for swimmers.
From the midway of the stretch the swimmers are able to reach the Rock island. The Galapiteala Reef and Napoleon Reef, offering multi level dives brings in opportunities to enjoy exceptional marine life: Napoleon Wrasse, Bat Fish, Golden Moray Eels and numerous other colourful species of fish can be found here.
Besides swimming, the Unawatuna beach is also famous for snorkelling and surfing. The wrecks of sunken ships make the Unawatuna beach popular among scuba divers too. A boat ride of 20 to 30 minutes takes the diving enthusiasts to locations of wreck dives.
The wreck of “Rangoon”- the British steamer sunken 100 years ago, can be found lying upright with its masts intact. This is a popular diving site in Unawatuna . Within the same area is the “Tango” which also attracts many divers. The other location, a wreck of a cargo ship called “Lord Nelson” is about ten years old. Diving schools at Unawatuna are available offering services to diving enthusiasts: they assist, equip and guide tourists to engage in diving activities
in Unawatuna .
Jungle Beach, (4 km from Unawatuna ) is a small stretch of beach with the forest right behind it. As the name suggests, it has its share of wilderness. An ideal beach to enjoy some snorkelling, it can be accessed from the Unawatuna beach by Boat. A minor road too leads to the Jungle beach from Unawatuna.
The Yatagala Rajamaha Viharaya, one of the oldest rock temples of Sri Lanka can be reached from the Unawatuna -Hinatigala road. The rock temple was believed to have been built about 2300 years ago. The temple of which the walls are adorned with murals, houses a 9 meter long reclining Buddha statue.
