Weligama beach - swimming and surfing in Sri Lanka

Sun, swimming and perhaps surfing in Sri Lanka? Weligama beach is a laid-back paradise for those who want to relax in the heat, hang out at simple beach restaurants or maybe try surfing the waves.

Weligama beaches

Weligama is a town in the southern part of Sri Lanka, and closest to the coast is Weligama Beach. This is a long sandy beach with soft, fine-grained sand and shallow water.

Along the beach there are a few simple restaurants and bars, sunbeds for hire and, most importantly, many places to rent surfboards. If you walk a bit along the beach, you'll soon come across all the colourful Sri Lankan fishing boats.

Surfing in Sri Lanka

The beach in Weligama is ideal for surfing, especially for beginners. It is shallow and the waves roll almost constantly towards the beach. Peter, Lennart and Beata tried it and I (Helena) chose to read a book in the shade.

I think they had the most fun - they were enthusiastic, even if they found it difficult. I, on the other hand, didn't have to deal with all the bruises they got... Renting a surfboard cost about 13 crowns per hour, so it's a cheap pleasure.

Restaurants in Weligama

Restaurants in Weligama serve everything from traditional Sri Lankan dishes to pizza and burgers. Along the beach there are many simple beach restaurants, and at the street above there are several "food trucks". Here we had good vegetarian noodles and beer for lunch.

The beer in the picture, Lion, is the one served almost everywhere in Sri Lanka. We also had good pizza one evening at Froggy restaurant on Weligama By Pass Road. Another night we had burgers at our hotel The View - not bad either.

Hotels on Weligama beach

We have stayed in two hotels in Weligama. The first night we stayed at the Neptune Resort, where we also celebrated New Year. There was only one night available here, so after that we moved to the hotel The View.

Neptune Story Resort is a very nice hotel with cosy bungalows right on the beach, pool and a simple little beach bar. We loved it here and can only complain about the WiFi, which worked poorly. We paid 1100 SEK per double room during New Year, but since they seem to almost double the price during the New Year holidays, the normal price is probably much lower.

The View Hotel is on the other side of the road from the beach. This means that it is very close to the beach, but you have to cross a street. This is a very relaxed hotel with a young backpacker and surfer feel. On the ground floor you can chill out on comfy sofas while watching TV, surfing the internet (WiFi is only available here) or eating burgers.

The rooms are high up with nice views from the balconies. The cleaning and shower left a little to be desired, but we still enjoyed our stay here. Here we paid around 500 SEK per double room, but even this price may have been more expensive than normal as it was just after New Year.

Celebrating New Year in Weligama

We have previously reported on our New Year celebrations in Sri Lankabut if you missed it, we can tell you that we celebrated on the beach in Weligama. We first checked out the seafood buffet at the neighbouring Hotel W15, but we thought that 1200 SEK per person was too much. Instead, we chose the beach restaurant at Neptune Story Resort. There we had shrimp cocktail, grilled fish and white wine, while sitting with our feet in the sand. Not bad at all!

During the evening, small fires were lit along the beach, and at 12 o'clock many of the hotels celebrated with big fireworks. Hotel W15 also had a DJ playing good music so we hung out there for a while on the new year's morning.

More beaches around Weligama

Weligama is a really nice beach, but there are also many other beaches to choose from. Of course, we haven't had time to explore all of them, but if you want to discover more beaches, the popular Mirissa is located east of Weligama. To the west are Unawatuna and Hikkaduwa.

See more in Sri Lanka

There is of course much more to see and experience in Sri Lanka! Here are some examples of great places to visit that are not too far from Weligama:

• bile is a beautiful and charming colonial city.
• Madu Ganga River offers an exciting river safari
• Ella is a charming tourist resort where you can take the famous train to the holy city of Kandy.

Facts about Weligama

• Country: Sri Lanka
• Provins: Southern Province
• Population: 22 000 (2012)
• Location: Weligama is located in the southern part of the country, about 120 kilometres southeast of Colombo. The nearest major town is Matara, which is 12 kilometres to the east.
• The meaning of the name: Weligama means 'Sandy Village', which refers to the long sandy beach.
• Industries: Tourism and fisheries

Climate in Weligama

• Climate: Tropical rainforest climate
• Temperature: The average annual temperature is 24 degrees Celsius. It is warmest in March, with an average temperature of 27 degrees and coldest in August, with an average temperature of 22 degrees.
• Precipitation: Average annual precipitation is 2390 millimetres. It rains the most in October, when there is an average of 417 millimetres of precipitation. January is the driest, with 68 millimetres of precipitation.

Things to see and do in Weligama

• Beach life: First and foremost, you go to Weligama to live the beach life, with sun, swimming and surfing.
• Attractions: A 3 metre high relief (statue) of the Boddhisattva Avalokitesvara (Buddhist creature), carved out of the surrounding rock several hundred years before Christ. Known locally as Kusta Raja Gala, it is believed to represent a king with a skin disease (leprosy) who used coconut pulp and water for three months to regain his health. When he recovered, he ordered his figure to be depicted in the mountain to commemorate this miraculous cure.
• Craftsmanship: Weligama is famous for its lace making, which came with the Portuguese in the 16th century. There's also a chance to see traditional fishing from poles (stilt fishing), although today many do it as a show for tourists.

History of Weligama

• 2000s: Weligama was severely damaged by the 2004 tsunami. Many houses were destroyed and many people also lost their lives. Today, the town has been rebuilt.

Travelling to Weligama

• Car from Colombo: It takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes to drive from Colombo to Weligama (144 kilometres). You can hire a car yourself (international driving licence required), but the most common way is to hire a car with a driver.
• Car from Galle: It takes about 45 minutes to drive from Galle to Weligama (29 kilometres).