| Welcome to Tangalle |
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Tangalla (or Tangalle), 35km east of Matara, is a pleasant fishing port situated on one of
the finest and largest bays in the island, which is protected from the ocean by an
enclosing reef. With fine beaches, good swimming and more than reasonable diving, it's not
surprising that Tangalla is a popular destination on the south coast.
Some say the name is
derived from "Ran- |
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gala" or "Golden rock" from a legend that tells of a time when a holy man
once partook of a meal there, and the rock was turned to gold. Others maintain that it
means the projecting rock, because long ago the town was protected from the ocean by a long
rocky slab that projected into the sea across the mouth of the bay.
What is certain is that Tangalla has for long been considered a good anchorage. The Dutch
were the first Europeans to discover the maritime benefits of Tangalla, and their influence
can be seen in a few remaining examples of architecture, such as the Rest House, Court House
and Fort. The Dutch Fort stands on a slope above the bay. Unfortunately it has undergone
considerable alteration since it was turned into a jail in the middle of the 19th century.
This fort differs from many others of the Dutch era in that there are no massive ramparts.
Four main walls, 12m high, enclose a space similar to a rhombus, and there are two bastions,
considerably lower in height, in opposite corners of the structure.
The British, too, used
Tangalla as an anchorage. Furthermore, tea planters began to develop it as a resort,
finding the clean white sand and deep blue water there the best antidote to life in the
sometimes chilly and damp hills. Even then Tangalla was a bustling place, its streets.
clogged with carts. A crowded noisy little town, is the way Bella Woolf describes Tangalla
in How to See Ceylon (1914). Nevertheless, she found the place entrancing, especially as
she experienced it on the night of the full moon: “The little silver waves creep up to the
walled garden”, she wrote. “Every leaf of the trees is silhouetted against the sky. Beyond
the brilliant moon path the waves break on the rocks, tossing up spray in strange contrast
to the placid ripples on the shore. Fireflies gleam in the trees - a medley of emerald
sparks.”
Tangalla has spread since those days to absorb former satellite villages, so that it now
comprises not just one bay but a series of them. Approaching Tangalla from the west, as
most visitors do, the first main accommodation areas to be encountered are Goyambokka and
Pallikaduwa, situated on a double bay south of the town. Beyond the town and harbour is the
large bay, where there are two other accommodation areas at Medaketiya and Medilla.
Medaketiya in particular has fine white sand, excellent swimming, and is rarely crowded.
The most popular day excursion from Tangalla is to the stunning rock temple of Mulkirigala,
20km to the north.
You ascend the rock steps to reach a series of natural caves with
numerous wall paintings and Buddha statues. One cave houses a library in which, a most
important discovery was made in 1826 by a British administrator, George Turnour. He found
some long-unseen olas (palm-leaf manuscripts) containing the key to translating the
Mahawamsa, the Great Chronicle. Turnour's discovery of the tika, or commentary, made it
possible for the Mahawamsa to be translated from Pali first into English and then into
Sinhala. This translation enabled scholars worldwide to study the eventful and often
dramatic history of the island from 543BC to comparatively modern times. Mulkirigala
is a strenuous climb in some places, reasonably easy in most. It is well worth making it
the summit, for there are magnificent views to be had of the surrounding countryside. |
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