Acquatic Life

Whale and dolphin watching

The ever smiling, mischievous dolphins will put on a show while some of the oldest and the largest sea creatures, the humpback and the blue whales, will nonchalantly glide past you, when you embark on a whale/ dolphin watching excursion off the Southern, Eastern or the West coast of Sri Lanka. The ideal locations for whale watching would be Dondra Point (accessible from Galle, Hikkaduwa and Mirissa) and Trincomalee while the sea off Kalpitiya teems with an abundance of dolphins.

Swimming

The golden shores of Sri Lanka are the most idyllic in the tropics. With 1,300 kilometers of palm-fringed beach right around the island, swimming in the ocean is a thrill that must be indulged in. The beaches of the west and south coasts are ideal for serious and recreational swimmers between April and November. For those seeking an added bonus, a swim in the Southern coast of Hikkaduwa might result in a once in a lifetime thrill of swimming with the rare leatherback or olive ridley turtles when they approach the shore at high tide.

Diving

The ocean around Sri Lanka whispers of tales bygone, ones of regal maritime visits, of bandits and pirates and journeys of explorers and spice merchants. As you plunge into the warm waters and dive below, these stories come to life. The crystal clear waters of the Indian Ocean with a visibility of 20 meters (65ft) provide perfect conditions for diving. With wrecks as dated as the 18th Century dotting the seas, deep reefs and reef walls provide enthralling explorations for scuba divers. For the less adventurous on-shore coral reefs are ideal for snorkelling. The abundant marine life found around the island is surpassed only at Hikkaduwa in the southern coast where the reef is thought to contain more species of fish than the Great Barrier Reef.

White water rafting

After navigating the Virgin’s Breast, you move through another couple of rapids before hitting the Killer Fall, where a sudden 90-degree drop and plenty of churning water really gets the adrenalin going. As the rapids dwindle to a patch of calm waters, the rafters are encouraged to jump in and body raft, just going with the flow past the riverine scenery of towering stands of bamboo, fruit trees and palms. And at the end of it all a lavish Sri Lankan buffet awaits. This is the typical fare of a white water rafting experience that is refreshingly Sri Lankan.

Surfing

Surf’s up in Sri Lanka! The east coast’s Arugam Bay is the best –kept secret among serious surfers, through gaining popularity worldwide not only for its waves but also for the pristine and beautiful beaches that surround it. Sri Lanka is a surfer’s paradise anytime of the year. Once the season ends at Arugam Bay, at another surfing hotspot especially for recreational surfers the season begins, along the southern coast in Hikkaduwa, Wewala and Narigama.

Learn more about the acquatic life in Sri Lanka at http://srilanka.travel/index.php?route=theame/main&theame=4