✦ Southern Province
Bentota
A palm-fringed beach resort where the Bentota river meets the sea — river safaris, turtle hatcheries and Bawa gardens.
Photo: Pavan Lulla / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
Destination guide
About Bentota
Bentota lies on the south-west coast where the Bentota Ganga river meets the Indian Ocean, creating a long sandbar beach between river and sea. It has been one of Sri Lanka’s main beach resort areas since the 1970s, with calm water sports on the river.
The area is closely linked to the architect Geoffrey Bawa and his brother, the landscape designer Bevis Bawa: Lunuganga, Geoffrey Bawa’s country garden, and Brief Garden are nearby. Further south, the Madu Ganga wetland and the mask-carving town of Ambalangoda are easy day trips.
Why visit
- Long sandy beach between the river and the sea
- River safaris on the Bentota Ganga and Madu Ganga
- Lunuganga and Brief Garden — the Bawa brothers’ gardens
- Turtle conservation projects along the coast at Kosgoda
Things to do in Bentota
- Take a boat safari on the Madu Ganga wetland near Balapitiya
- Visit Lunuganga or Brief Garden
- See a turtle hatchery at Kosgoda
- Watch traditional mask carving in Ambalangoda
- Try water sports on the Bentota river
Tours that include Bentota
Beach
Negombo–Bentota–Galle–Weligama–Tangalle
Beaches of Sri Lanka 8-Day Coast Tour
Outrigger canoes rest on Negombo's sand at dawn, and by the end of the week you will have traded them for the…
- 8 days / 7 nights
- Negombo → Tangalle
Family
Negombo–Sigiriya–Kandy–Ella–Bentota
Family Sri Lanka 8-Day Journey
Bullock-cart rides between paddy fields, a climb past giant lion's paws at Sigiriya and a slow train winding through tea estates make…
- 8 days / 7 nights
- Negombo → Bentota
Coast
Galle–Bentota
Galle and Dutch Heritage 3-Day Tour
Whitewashed churches and gabled merchants' houses line the quiet lanes inside Galle's seventeenth-century ramparts. Spend a day exploring the Fort, then follow…
- 3 days / 2 nights
- Galle → Bentota
Craft
Colombo–Kandy–Matale–Ambalangoda
Heritage and Craft 5-Day Tour
Behind every Kandyan carving, brass lamp and painted Ambalangoda mask stands a family of makers. Spend five days meeting them, from Colombo's…
- 5 days / 4 nights
- Colombo → Galle
Where to stay near Bentota
★ Featured
Luxury Resort
Kalutara
Anantara Kalutara Resort
Beachfront resort on Sri Lanka’s west coast near the Kalu Ganga.
Luxury Beach
Bentota
Cinnamon Bentota Beach
This is Geoffrey Bawa's former Bentota Beach Hotel, built in 1967–69 between the Bentota River and the Indian Ocean.
Heritage Luxury
Bentota
Lunuganga Country Estate
Geoffrey Bawa's country estate on Dedduwa Lake near Bentota.
Bentota
Jetwing Saman Villas
An adults-only, all-suite hotel above the beach at Aturuwella, near Bentota.
Balapitiya
Kumu Beach
Small beachfront boutique property on the west/south coast.
Bentota
Taj Bentota Resort & Spa
A beachfront Taj resort on a headland between two beaches in Bentota's National Holiday Resort area, about 80 km from Colombo.
Experiences in and around Bentota
Nature
Bentota
Bentota River Safari
Upstream from the beach, the Bentota Ganga narrows into green corridors where water monitors slide off the banks and kingfishers flash blue.…
- 2–3 hours
- November–April
Nature
Balapitiya
Madu Ganga Lagoon Boat Trip
Mangrove roots arch over dark, tannin-stained water as your boat threads between small islands on the Madu Ganga. Near Balapitiya, a gentle…
- 2–3 hours
- Year-round
Culture
Ambalangoda
Traditional Mask Carving Workshop
Fresh shavings of pale kaduru wood curl from the carver's chisel as a demon's face slowly emerges. In Ambalangoda, on the south-west…
- 2–3 hours
- Year-round
🍛 Local flavours
Food to try in Bentota
- Fresh seafoodgrilled fish, prawns and cuttlefish
- Pol sambolfresh coconut relish with chilli and lime
- Rice and curry
- Fresh king coconut (thambili)
Best time to visit Bentota
- JanUsually the best months
- FebUsually the best months
- MarUsually the best months
- AprUsually the best months
- MayPossible, with more rain or heat
- JunPossible, with more rain or heat
- JulPossible, with more rain or heat
- AugPossible, with more rain or heat
- SepPossible, with more rain or heat
- OctPossible, with more rain or heat
- NovPossible, with more rain or heat
- DecUsually the best months
December–April (south-west coast dry season)
Sri Lanka has two monsoons, so when one coast is rainy the other is usually dry — weather varies from year to year.
Bentota on the map
Destinations near Bentota
References / Sources
- Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau: https://www.srilanka.travel
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