Tangalle is an authentic fishing village, from where you can get a feel of an aspect of real Sri Lankan life.
Shopping
You can take a tuk tuk (400rs one way, we can call one for you) or walk 2km down the charming beach road for any shopping requirements. All kinds of shops and many banks with ATM are available in town.
At the daily market or the bigger weekly market (all day on Wednesdays and Sundays), you can find clothes, different materials (saree, sarong, fabric, etc), fruits, vegetables and ceramics.
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Indika Art Gallery and Blue Horizon Guesthouse sell souvenirs from Sri Lanka. Other shops in town sells souvenirs. They are located on the left and right before the junction of Medaketiya Road and the main road.
Art Gallery
Indika Pathmananda, a Sri Lanka's leading young artist, shows his paintings at the beach road which leads to the town from Patini.
Harbour
Have a look at the colourful fishing harbour (entry 100 LKR per people).
Bath or snorkel at the beach after the harbour, no wave at all, not deep. Perfect for the children. On the week-end and holiday, there could be a lot of locals, so better for the women to wear short and tshirt to bath. Be careful, this beach could have sandflies. You can enjoy the ocean and come back to your guesthouse to sun bath...
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Diving / Snorkelling
A new diving center opened in 2018 at Tangalle, Ruhunu Diving Center. The few guests who went diving with them enjoyed a lot. Its TripAdvisor reviews are great.
Three snorkelling spots are available at or around Tangalle. They are not beautiful spots, but you can see some colourful fish.
- at the beach of Tangalle harbour called also Navy beach or Parewella. This beach is also perfect for the children to bath because no wave at all and not deep. On the week-end and holiday, there could be a lot of locals, so better for the women to wear short and tshirt to bath.
- at the Cactus Loung Restaurant's beach, west side of Tangalle. A very good restaurant.
- at Unakuruwa, about 6km from Patini west side, also a surfing spot.
Mask and tuba are available at Patini under your responsability (the lost has to be paid).
These following beaches offer beautiful spots for snorkeling:
- at Polhena/Madiha, near Matara, about 1h drive from Patini. Turtles are also there.
- at Mirissa, about 1h30 drive from Patini. You can go to watch whales in the morning and chill on the beach and snorkel in the afternoon.
- at Unawatuna, about 1h45 drive from Patini. You can take a boat to go snorkel at nice spot...visit Galle Fort in the morning and snorkel in the afternoon or the opposite because sometimes the visibility is better in the morning.
Surfing
You can surf at:
- Unakuruwa, km 192, about 3km west side of Tangalle, about 6km from Patini west side. This surfing beach is a reef break, so for experiment surfers with a good skill. A beginner guest took some surfing lesson there and it was ok. This beach is also for snorkelling (few colourful fish).
- Hiriketiya, about 20km west side from Patini, just before Dickwella. This beach is for all kinds of surfers, beginners to good surfers.
If you like surfing lesson, you can contact Bandula Surfing School. Or you can contact him directly at +94776357734. Better to contact him enough in advance (even months before) to be sure to get a lesson, he is very busy. He is expensive because he is the only professional surfing coach in the area. Many cheaper surfing schools are available in Tangalle and directly at the surfing beaches.
We have body boards on request.