Galle, the main city and port on the south coast, retains a romantic, old-world atmosphere within its Dutch fort. In fact, Galle is considered to be Sri Lanka's most historically interesting city still functioning. It began to assume importance after a Portuguese fleet arrived accidentally in 1505. The story goes that on hearing a cock crowing on their arrival,

Any seaside village whose name translates as “fell down,” whose beach has been voted the best in the world, and which was once the home of science-fiction icon Arthur C. Clarke has to be remarkable. So it is with legend-laden Unawatuna, a place that derives its name from a rock outcrop supposed to have been dropped from the sky by the monkey-god Hanuman.

Koggala, just a short distance from the capital of the Southern Province, Galle, has become a coastal resort in recent decades, with a string of hotels along the beach. During World War Two, Koggala became an important base for British Catalina seaplane reconnaissance operations in the Indian Ocean. In 1942, in a little-known episode of the war,

There are several remarkable bays in Sri Lanka, most especially China Bay at Trincomalee in the north east. A close runner-up is Weligama Bay down south, a spectacular crescent of golden sand punctuating the coastline. Weligama has much to offer the visitor apart from sea and sun, however. Here you will find extraordinary fishermen, a mysterious statue...