Listed as one of the seven most beautiful beaches in the world, Unawatuna is an ideal holiday destination for both the budget minded as well as the more up market travellers.
Sri Lanka holiday makers have identified Unawatuna as the best beach in the West and South West part of the country.
Recently New York Times, in its travel section has nominated Sri Lanka as the ‘Best Destination’ to visit in the year 2010. A special mention has been made about Unawatuna Beach in the article giving the edge over the rest of the sandy areas in the country.
Sea View Resort is one of the popular places for travellers to the area. ‘The Rock’ is a specialized sea food restaurant located on Unawatuna Beach. Started in 1997, ‘The Rock’ restaurant is a popular place among foreigners visiting Southern Province as well as Sri Lankan holiday makers visiting Unawatuna during weekends.
The restaurant is a brain child of Anura Yatawara, an experienced hotelier in the South. ‘I just started this place in very small way and it has grown in to a big project now. The main reason is serving the need of the tourist. Most of the visitors are dying to eat a good sea food platter and we are the best at it’ explained Yatawara. His new project is the new project Ocean Bay Hotel catering mainly to tourists coming for adventure and water sports.
‘Our main service is to arrange facilities for water sports, adventure boat ride service to ‘Jungle Beach’ in Roomassala off the Unawatuna coast and taking tourists on deep sea fishing trips’ said Anura.
Apart from that, ‘Hard Rock’ arranges city tours to traditional tourists. ‘Galle Fort, religious places and ancient places and locations, turtle hatcheries, handicraft villages spice gardens are some of the popular places we include in these tours’ he added.
‘The Rock’ has expanded during this year by adding a pizza centre for Italian food lovers. ‘Since lately, we get quite a number of Italian visitors and that’s why we thought of going for a pizza corner. But still the British tourists are the number one travellers to the South’ said Yatawara.
‘Your patronage also helps us to employ young people in the Village which in turn helps them to get back on their feet. Give us the opportunity to serve you and to make your holiday the best ever’ he added.
Canoe ride in Koggala Wewa, travel to Bird Island at dusk, watching stilt fisherman in the evening at Weligama Beach , a trip to the Sinharajah Rainforest or the old Dutch Fort in Galle are some of the popular excursions for both Sri Lankan and oversea travellers.
‘The tours to lower country Tea Plantation, the turtle hatchery or up the coast to Ambalangoda to see traditional Lankan craft work can be arranged for you whether they be day tours or excursions around the Island by chauffeur driven AC or non AC vans’ he added.
For more details of ‘The Rock’, contact 091 2246288.
Unawatuna beach losing its glamour
‘But unfortunately, when the tourism is booming in Sri Lanka, we are facing the danger of losing everything.
 |
| Anura Yatawara |
The sea erosion is at its very strong way. We have complained to all the necessary officials of the region – local authorities, Department of Coast Conservation, all politicians, but sadly still no constructive measure has been taken to resort the old format of popular Unawatuna beach. Most of water sports, adventure boat ride service, diving and other sea sports stand danger due to this problem’ said Anura Yatawara.
The waves have strongly ran into the restaurants and to the lobbies of the hotels, with out leaving an inch of this beautiful beach to the revellers.
‘The reasons for such behaviour of the sea are not relevant now. Who ever has done the damage is past and all we need is to do something to save the last bit of the beach, I request the authorities to look into the matter soon’ he said. |
E-mail
