South coast
Weligama
A long, sandy bay with small, friendly waves that make it the best place on the island to learn to surf, with Taprobane island just offshore.
- Time to spend
- 2 to 3 nights
- Best months
- November to April.
- Getting around
- Tuk-tuks and scooters; the coast train stops at Weligama.
- Good to know
- The main road runs right behind the beach, so choose a room set back from it. Take lessons from a school with proper instructors and soft boards.
Weligama means "sandy village", and its wide bay has some of the gentlest beginner surf on the island in season. Dozens of surf schools line the beach road.
Just offshore sits the tiny island of Taprobane, with a villa built in the 1920s. The fishing harbour at the eastern end of the bay is busy with painted outrigger canoes in the morning.
Mirissa is ten minutes east, and the reef breaks of Midigama and Ahangama are close by for when you have found your feet.
What to see and do
Surf lesson at Weligama
Open in MapsA two-hour beginner surf lesson on Weligama's long, sandy bay, one of the gentlest breaks on the island in season.
2 hr 30 min · MorningLKR 5,000 to LKR 9,000estimateBoard rental and lesson; prices vary by school.
Weligama bay and Taprobane island
Open in MapsThe wide sandy bay and the small island of Taprobane, which you can wade out towards at low tide in calm weather.
2 hr · SunsetFree entryKushtarajagala
Open in MapsA large standing figure carved into a rock at the western edge of Weligama, traditionally said to be a king cured of a skin disease, now thought to be a Bodhisattva.
20 min · Any timeFree entry
Also consider
Nearby places to stay
- MirissaAbout 15 min by carPlan with both
- AhangamaAbout 15 min by carPlan with both
- ThalpeAbout 30 min by carPlan with both
- GalleAbout 45 min by carPlan with both
- UnawatunaAbout 45 min by carPlan with both
- HiriketiyaAbout 1 hr by carPlan with both
Photos
