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Unawatuna Beach, Sri Lanka

Beaches in South Sri Lanka

Posted on April 22, 2013May 17, 2021

Even though I am a mountain person I do like to take beach vacations as well. In South Sri Lanka we visited three beaches in all. We stayed at Unawatuna and did Mirissa and Matara as day trips. As I prepare to take the connecting flights back home tomorrow, I will leave with images from each of the beaches we visited.

As we stayed here we spent most of the time around Unawatuna. It is a lovely beach which was terribly affected in the tsunami of 2004. If you go to the restaurants they show pictures of the beach and the nearby areas after tsunami and what a horror they are! Tsunami stories are very common here. I saw pictures where buses were lying upside down. But enough about it. Today it is a beautiful beach again which does roaring business.

Mirissa Beach, Sri Lanka

Mirissa Beach, Sri Lanka

Mirissa is about 30 km from Unawatuna and any tuktuk driver would drop you there. It is  quieter beach than Unawatuna. It has one big hotel and rest smaller ones. There are plenty of shacks to eat and almost all of them have sunbeds where you can laze around. I tried reading a book but most of the times I failed. I was happier gazing at the sea than anything else. I saw many beginner surfers at Mirissa.

Matara Beach, Sri Lanka

 Matara Beach, Sri Lanka

Matara is a local beach about 40 km away from Unawatuna. It is a beautiful place. It has none of the shacks of Unawatuna and Mirissa. In fact it seems to be very popular with local couples  We arrived here mid day and it was blazing hot. Given that there were no places to sit we soon gave up on it. In this picture you do not see the couple’s as they are sitting in the shade of the coconut trees most often with an umbrella in the hand as well.

Tomorrow we head back. How I wish we had time to explore a few more beaches in Sri Lanka. After reaching I am almost immediately heading back to Guwahati and Shillong for work. But somewhere I will find time to tell you detailed stories from Sri Lanka.

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28 thoughts on “Beaches in South Sri Lanka”

  1. My Say says:
    April 22, 2013 at 11:53 pm

    Amazing beaches .. I told u in the last post !! nice captures !!! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 1:38 pm

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  2. shooting star says:
    April 23, 2013 at 10:11 am

    my husband is an out and out beach person..his idea of a perfect holiday is to laze around on a beach with chilled beer in hand!!!

    these are very nice beaches 🙂

    http://www.myunfinishedlife.com/

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 1:38 pm

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts Sushmita. Enjoy our next beach vacation.

      Reply
  3. Meena Menon says:
    April 23, 2013 at 11:34 am

    Tht was a short hol!! Funnily we visited only 1 beach during our entire stay in SL ….

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 1:39 pm

      But then I hardly visited anything other than beaches in my Sri Lanka vacation!

      Reply
  4. Sreedev Soman says:
    April 23, 2013 at 12:40 pm

    Good Info…
    Sreedev Soman @ KookyDom

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:01 pm

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  5. vish4uall says:
    April 23, 2013 at 12:56 pm

    i have fallen in love with the sri lanka series blogs of yours…. 🙂 lovely lovely images..

    InkMyTravel

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:02 pm

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  6. Niranjan says:
    April 23, 2013 at 2:50 pm

    Those beaches look so inviting.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:03 pm

      Thank you so much Niranjan.

      Reply
  7. Krrishna says:
    April 23, 2013 at 2:50 pm

    Sri Lankan beaches are undoubtedly among the most popular and most visited beaches in the world. They are not less familiar than the Goa in India. And thanks Mridula! you’ve highlighted them more precisely and beautifully written… 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:04 pm

      Thank you Krishna.

      Reply
  8. Easwar Arumugam says:
    April 23, 2013 at 3:49 pm

    Sri Lanka is a treasure-trove for tourists. The country is blanketed with enchanting greeneries and the beaches are eye-catching lots.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:09 pm

      And I have seen so little Easwar!

      Reply
  9. Anuradha Shankar says:
    April 23, 2013 at 8:21 pm

    such beautiful beaches, Mridula! am just reading a book which is set in Sri Lanka… that together with your photos and description make me want to go there too 😀 hope the time comes soon!

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:11 pm

      I hope go you soon Anu.

      Reply
  10. Ajeeth boaz says:
    April 24, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    Nice set of beaches, Great shots…

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:11 pm

      Thank you Ajeeth.

      Reply
  11. Team G Square says:
    April 24, 2013 at 4:54 pm

    Being born beside beaches , i always have kind of affection to beaches . Shall some day visit these beaches .Love your captures .

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:43 pm

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  12. Anki S says:
    April 24, 2013 at 5:37 pm

    Unawatuna Beach is a super wow shot.Shillong and Guwahati for work,where do you work Mridula,I too want to join 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:44 pm

      Ankita 😀 Believe me you won’t like it!

      Reply
  13. leena patel says:
    April 25, 2013 at 1:05 pm

    nice photographs

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:45 pm

      Thank you Leena.

      Reply
  14. Deepak Khanal says:
    April 29, 2013 at 10:49 am

    Amazing beaches in Sirlinka, i love to visit . Thank you very for lovely picture with information.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      June 18, 2015 at 2:53 pm

      Thank you Deepak.

      Reply

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About Me

I am Mridula Dwivedi and I started this blog in 2005. It has been an amazing ride. I have visited 33 countries till date! I have worked with many tourism boards and prominent travel companies. My blog was featured on the BBC and the Guardian.

I did my Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur. I worked full time in academics till 2015! I quit my job as a professor, thinking I will take a break for one year, which turned into five.

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