Sea Bath in Southern Coast – One of Things to Do in Sri Lanka

Hi guys, hope you are doing well. It has been almost a month since my last post. I was busy with some personal matters. Anyway, today I’m going to talk about kind of one of compulsory things to do in Sri Lanka.:) That is having a sea bath in Southern Coast. Of course, almost all the tourists come to Sri Lanka visit Southern coast or Eastern Coast somewhere in their journey. Because they have the best beaches in Sri Lanka. But today I’m not going to talk about those well known beaches in Southern coast, such as Mirissa, Unawatuna, Hikkaduwa or Bentota. With recent comments, it is noticed that all those beaches are too touristy presently (but still they are so beautiful). I’m going to give you guys a hint of two beaches in Southern coast, which are less crowded yet perfect for a sea bath.

Polhena Beach – Matara

I have bathed uncountable number of times here, since it is in my home town, Matara. It is a  large sea pool which has a uniform height up to a large distance from the coast. And due to the coral reef, the tides are blocked. Therefore the water is very calm and relaxing. These characteristics make Polhena Beach a perfect place to have a sea bath. That is why my friends and I always go there.

Even though Polhena beach is unknown to foreign travellers (very few foreigners were spotted there), it is relatively well known among Sri Lankans. People who are on trips through the South, tend to come here and have a bath. Especially, parents with little kids often come here to let their kids enjoy the sea, due to the safeness of the place.

But, be noted that on full moon days, the water level goes high due to lunar activity. On those days, you have to be careful a little bit more, since you can’t go far from the coast just like normal days. Another thing, on a part of the year, jelly fishes come close to the coast. If there is no one bathing when you visit, look carefully in the water before jumping in.

There are small shops which will rent you air tubes, goggles, trousers and air ducks for kids. Large parking space is available for vehicles on the beach. But there will be a small fee for vehicles (not for motorcycles). As of 05/02/2017, it is 150 LKR.

Check the video below captured by me. Be noted that this video is taken on a full moon day, therefore water level is somewhat high. And also this is a holiday, so the place is crowded than other days.

In normal days, the water is lower and calmer. There are a lot of videos of ‘Polhena beach’ on YouTube. Just make a search, you will see the difference.

How to Reach…?

See the map below for directions from Matara Bus Stand.

And finally there is another warning. I don’t recommend going very far from the coast, since there are sea-urchins far from the coast.

Koggala Beach – At the Outfall of Koggala Lake

This place is also a sea pool with uniform height and calm water. But there is a difference than Polhena beach, the formation of this place is built artificially. A construction (bridge) is taking place at the outfall. Therefore a breakwater has been built to prevent tides. That has created an amazing sea pool with decent height.  But this place is not very popular even among locals.

Check these videos out.

I think you can have a clear idea of this place now. You can see that there is an opening of the breakwater. If you need some extra thrill that is the place. There are high and heavy tides at the opening. Fighting with them is an exiting thing to do, as I did.

But make sure you don’t go beyond the opening, always stay inside the breakwater.

I’m not sure whether this breakwater is a permanent one or not. But I wish that is a permanent one.:)

How to Reach…?

This is the route to the place from Matara Bus Stand.

I gave the directions from Matara bus stand for this one also, so you can compare the distance to both places.

Hope this information will be useful for you guys. We will cover a lot more things in the list of ‘Things to do in Sri Lanka’, in the future. If you need further clarifications or if have any doubts, please feel free to leave a comment. See you in the next article then.

 

Updated:

We recently came across with another beautiful sea pool in Southern Coast. It is situated in Mirijjawila, Hambantota.

Mirijjawila Beach

This is also a man-made place. A breakwater is built to support a small fishery harbor and that has created a calm sea pool. But unlike other places the height is not uniform here. The height is increasing gradually as you go from coast towards the breakwater. You have to be careful not to go so far from the coast. The place is really beautiful.

This place is very popular among people in that area, but not known by others much. We also got to know this place thanks to the owner of the shop in which we had lunch.

Check the video below also.

How to Reach…?

Refer the map below for the exact route to the place from Mirijjawila Junction.

You can see that next to this place, there is the new Port (Ruhunu Magampura Port). Since the place is only known by the people in that area, very less number of people come here to have a bath. That makes the place more and more calm and relaxing.

If you are hoping to come to ‘Down South’ and stay few days in Matara or Hambantota, make sure to book your accommodation early. No need to worry if you are hoping to stay at Galle, since there are a vast number of places you can rent. But, in Matara, accommodations are comparatively less in number and in Hambantota it is very rare. So, you better prepare early.