✦ Southern Province
Tangalle
Quiet sandy bays on the deep south coast — turtle-nesting beaches, a blowhole and an ancient rock temple inland.
Photo: Peter Addor from underway; mailnly Switzerland, Italy and Sri Lanka, world / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Destination guide
About Tangalle
Tangalle is a fishing town in Hambantota District on the deep south coast, with long, uncrowded beaches and small rocky coves. It is a calmer alternative to the busier south-west resorts and a convenient base between Mirissa and Yala.
Nearby Rekawa beach is a protected nesting site for sea turtles, the Hummanaya blowhole at Kudawella sends sea spray high into the air, and inland the Mulkirigala rock temple has cave shrines and paintings reached by long stone stairways.
Why visit
- Long, quiet beaches and coves
- Sea-turtle nesting at Rekawa
- Mulkirigala rock temple
- Good base between the south coast and Yala
Things to do in Tangalle
- Watch turtles nesting at night with a licensed Rekawa guide
- Climb the stairways of Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara
- See the Hummanaya blowhole at Kudawella
- Relax on Goyambokka or Silent beach
Tours that include Tangalle
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
Culture
Galle–Weligama–Midigama–Tangalle
South Coast Surf and Culture 6-Day Tour
Warm water and soft, sandy-bottomed waves make the south coast a forgiving place to learn to surf. After a first evening in…
- 6 days / 5 nights
- Galle → Tangalle
★ Featured
Beach
Galle–Unawatuna–Weligama–Tangalle
Southern Coast Luxury 5-Day Escape
The south coast changes character every few kilometres. Inside Galle's ramparts, church bells ring over gabled houses; at Unawatuna a coral-fringed bay…
- 5 days / 4 nights
- Galle → Tangalle
★ Featured
Beach
Yala–Tangalle–Galle
Yala Wildlife and South Coast 5-Day Tour
If fortune smiles, a leopard may be stretched across a rocky outcrop on your first Yala drive. From the wild south-east, this…
- 5 days / 4 nights
- Yala → Galle
Where to stay near Tangalle
★ Featured
Luxury Beach
Tangalle
Amanwella
Minimalist luxury beach resort on Tangalle’s southern coast.
Boutique Luxury
Tangalle
The Last House
A beachfront house near Tangalle designed by Geoffrey Bawa and widely described as his final project, set in tropical gardens facing the…
Tangalle
Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort
Clifftop and beachfront resort on the south coast.
Tangalle
Buckingham Place
A boutique hotel and spa with 16 bedrooms and suites on Rekawa Beach near Tangalle, a stretch of coast that is a…
Heritage near Tangalle
Culture
Tangalle area
Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara
Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara is a real Sri Lankan heritage site or cultural landmark in Tangalle area. It is presented as a…
- Ancient / medieval period
Culture
Dikwella
Wewurukannala Vihara
Wewurukannala Vihara is a real Sri Lankan heritage site or cultural landmark in Dikwella. It is presented as a travel and cultural…
- Historic period
🍛 Local flavours
Food to try in Tangalle
- Fresh seafood from the fishing harbour
- Buffalo curd with kithul treacle
- Ambul thiyalsour fish curry
- Rice and curry
Best time to visit Tangalle
- 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 (southern dry season)
Sri Lanka has two monsoons, so when one coast is rainy the other is usually dry — weather varies from year to year.
Tangalle on the map
Destinations near Tangalle
References / Sources
- Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau: https://www.srilanka.travel
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