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Sri Lanka Tourism Down South Guide . . . !

:: DOWN SOUTH LK - Professional Travel Guide ::

Welcome to Tangalle
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-

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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