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| Sri Lanka's spectacular scenic beauty doses not end at its shore-line. Beneath its seas lies a fascinating sub-marine wonderland of gorgeously colored coral, jewel-hued tropical fish and submerged shipwrecks which offer exciting and memorable experiences and photographic opportunities to those who don mask, snorkel, flippers or SCUBA gear or even explore in a glass-keeled boat. |
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| A small island separated from the Indian peninsula by a narrow strait, Sri Lanka is abundantly endowed with underwater attractions which almost surround its coast. Its tropical location between 5° and 9° north of the equator in the Indian Ocean surrounds it with perennially warm water which remains at an inviting 27° c |
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| Conveniently rostered monsoons ensure that one half of the island's coastal waters are always in season for all aquatic pursuits - the west coast from December through March and the north and east coasts from March to September; July and October are best avoided. Underwater visibility in season is good and range from 50 to 100 feet down, |
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| The Choice sites |
| A wide coral shelf surrounds Sri Lanka’s coast at intervals, from north south, providing excellent sites for skin-diving. Some of the best spots for submarine signt seeing and exploration are |
Ambalangoda, Hikkaduwa, Gintota, Galle, Unawatuna, Weligama, Kudawella, Mahawella, Dickwella, Tangalle, and the famed Great and Little Basses (best in March-April) on the south and south - east coast, Arippu, Silavatural, Kandakuliya and the Bar - Reef on the north - west coast and Negombo and Beruwela - Bentota on the western sea - board. Sri Lanka's east coast has exceptional underwater sites at Kalmunai, Kattankudy, Batticaloa, Tirrukovil, Punnakudah, Kalkudah, Passekudah, Vakkarai and Pigeon Island (Nilaveli).
There are 138 species of corals recorded for Sri Lanka. The common species belonging to the families of Acroporidae (Staghorn corals), Poritidae (Dome corals) Mussidae (Brain corals), Faviidae (Star corals). |
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| Shipwrecks |
| Apart from treasures of coral and fish, the reefs and sea-beds off-shore from Sri Lanka offer another exciting attraction to skilled divers, underwater archaeologists and photographers. Submerged wrecks abound in coastal waters, a legacy of more than twenty centuries of maritime trade and seafaring. Among the best known are Conch , the world's first oil-tanker, which ran aground in 1903 and the first air-craft carrier H. M. S. Hermes, sunk by Japanese off Batticaloa in 1942, and which was filmed by night for the movie Blue Water, White Death. One of the most exciting underwater 'finds' was a 20-gun man- of-war, carrying several hundred kilograms of 1703 silver coins in mint condition, discovered off the southern tip of Sri Lanka. A 15-kilogram mass, containing exactly one thousand of these coins, still in the shape of their original bag is now on display in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D. C. Other notable wrecks include the Malabar, off the south coast. |
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