Other sights in The South
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Yala National Park
With trumpeting elephants, monkeys crashing through the trees, peacocks in their finest frocks and cunning leopards sliding like shadows through the undergrowth, Yala National Park (also known as Ruhunu) is The Jungle Book brought to glorious life. This vast region of dry woodland and open patches of grasslands is the big draw of this corner of Sri Lanka, and though it’s far from Kenya, a safari here is well worth all the time, effort and cost.
The entrance fees are payable at the main office, which is near the entrance, some 21km from Tissa. There are a few displays here of the pickled and stuffed variety. The road from Tissa is rough but passable, although a 4WD is…
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Bundala National Park
Bundala National Park is a fantastic maze of waterways, lagoons and dunes that glitter like gold in the dying evening sun. This wonderland provides a home to thousands of colourful birds ranging from diminutive little bee-eaters to grotesque open-billed stalks. It is a wetland sanctuary of such importance that it has been recognised under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. It shelters some 150 species of birds within its 62-sq-km area, with many journeying from Siberia and the Rann of Kutch in India to winter here, arriving between August and April. It’s also a winter home to the greater flamingo, and up to 2000 have been recorded here at one time. If you’re a birder,…
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Star Fort
The Star Fort, about 350m from the main Dutch rampart gate, was built by the Dutch to compensate for deficiencies in the rampart. However, it’s so small it could only have protected a handful of bureaucrats. The date of construction (1765) is embossed over the main gate, along with the VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) company insignia and the coat of arms of the governor of the day. Look for the two carved lions that guard the entrance gates. You can also spot the slots that once secured the drawbridge beams.
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Dutch Rampart
The smallish Dutch rampart occupies the promontory separating the Nilwala Ganga from the sea. Built in the 18th century to protect the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie’s kachcheri (administrative office), its structure is a little peculiar – it was originally meant to be a fort, but accountants, with their pesky cost-cutting exercises, dictated otherwise. Inside the rampart are quiet vestiges of old Matara.
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Tissa Wewa
The centrepiece of the town and its surrounds is the lovely Tissa Wewa, a huge man-made lake about 1.5km from the town centre. In the evening check out the huge flocks of egrets that descend onto the trees around the lake to roost. Pleasant boat trips are possible around the lake (Rs 500 per boat, per hour) from the Independent Jeep Association car park. Fight tooth and nail for a deal.
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Maha Devale
This is the most important shrine. It contains the lance of the six-faced, 12-armed Hindu war god, Murugan (Skanda), who is seen as identical to the Kataragama Deviyo. Followers make offerings at daily puja at 4.30am, 10.30am and 6.30pm (no 4.30am offering on Saturday). Outside this shrine are two large boulders, against which pilgrims smash burning coconuts while muttering a prayer.
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Dagoba
The large white restored dagoba between Tissa town centre and the wewa is believed to have been built by Kavantissa, a king of the kingdom of Ruhunu, which centred on Tissamaharama. The dagoba has a circumference of 165m and stands 55.8m high. It is thought to have held a sacred tooth relic and forehead bone relic. It’s attractively lit up at night.
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Museum
This small museum, next to the dagoba, contains an extraordinary range of treasures dug up from around the dagoba, including an ornate, ancient bidet, which – as well as an elaborate filtration system that prevented any water pollution – had murals of ugly faces carved into it in order to stop the user thinking about sex! Its hours vary.
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Yatala Wehera
Next to the Tissa–Deberawewa road is Yatala Wehera, built 2300 years ago by King Mahanaaga in thanks both for the birth of his son, Yatala Tissa, and for his safe escape from an assassination attempt in Anuradhapura.
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Archaeological Museum
An archaeological museum has a collection of Hindu and Buddhist religious items, as well as huge fibreglass models of statues from around Sri Lanka. A small museum has a display of Buddhist statues.
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Rest House
The shady Rest House was once home to the Dutch administrators. It’s one of the oldest rest houses in the country, and was originally built (as a plate on the front steps indicates) in 1774.
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Ul-Khizr Mosque
The Muslim area features the beautiful Ul-Khizr Mosque with coloured tile work and wooden lintels, and tombs of two holy men.
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