Always time to mend a few nets at Arugam Bay
Arugam Bay in southeast Sri Lanka is fairly well known for surfing, and waves are best in the high season, between April and October. In low season, it’s still a great getaway, with plentiful inexpensive beach bungalows and hotels, picturesque fishing boats, and an opportunity to swim in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Low season is the time to get serious hammock time down reading a book or two, and typically all you’ll hear is the sound of the surf. For dinner, we recommend the Stardust Beach Restaurant, located in the hotel of the same name. The food is great, décor terrific, and bottles of decent wine are not all that expensive.
Bungalows at Arugam Bay are just steps away from the Indian Ocean
Arugam Bay is also a convenient dropping-off point to take the outrigger mangrove tour in the nearby village of Pottuvil, where there are also some ancient ruins called Mudu Maha Vihara, right out near the ocean dunes. Here, a 3 meter high Buddha statue gazes at two others adjacent to it, and the whole complex sits next to a mosque with some of the nicest stylized windows in the area.
Window at Mulu Maha mosque
[…] Arugam Bay in southeast Sri Lanka is fairly well known for surfing and other water sports, but you’ll be missing something extraordinary if you don’t take a nearby mangrove eco-tour in the village of Pottuvil. The tour is by outrigger, polled through the mangrove waters by local people, is managed by the Hidiyapuram Fisheries Cooperative Society, and takes approximately two hours, with two brief stops along the way. Your ticket assists the Society to replenish mangrove flora, caring for wildlife, and assists in the livelihoods of people living adjacent to the lagoon. You can book a tour from any hotel, and a tuk-tuk will arrive to drop you off at the lagoon dock, and take you back. […]