Unawatuna Beach

“And always it is the same; the slender palm trees leaning over the white sand, the warm sun sparkling on the waves as they break on the inshore reef, the outrigger fishing boats drawn up high on the beach.” Wrote Sir Arthur C. Clarke of Unawatuna. But with that kind of recommendation comes the price of visitors and this graceful stretch of white sand has gradually been crowded out with the kind of facilites which make a holiday lovely and relaxing, beach front bars, internet cafes, boutiques and massage services, but don’t add to the natural beauty of the view.

Amazingly biologically diverse, the mangroves along the edges of the beach are full of the chatter of exotic birds, and the coral reefs and wrecks are a colourful blur of marine life. Turtles have laid their eggs here for turtle generations and the tourist invasion with its beach side restaurants and bars is so fresh for them that some still wander into restaurants trying to find the right place to lay their eggs. The tsunami did some damage to the region as well and what locals call the ‘heavenly beauty’ of the place is in a precarious balance.