Baththalangunduwa is iconic place for beach camping. Kalpitiya has gotten one of the significant vacation spots of Sri Lanka. Most of the travelers visit Kalpitiya to visit mainly Baththalangunduwa, Bird watching, Kalpitiya Dutch Fort, Kayaking, Kite surfing, and it has an amazing beach. There are limited number of tourist destinations in Kalpitiya. So it is very easy to cover all tourist attractions within two to three days.
Baththalangunduwa Island – Highlights of Kalpitiya
Around 38 kilometers or 20 nautical miles from the town of Kalpitiya off the Dutch Bay lies the island of Baththalangunduwa. A thin strip of an island about a mere five square kilometers in size, it is one of the few inhabited ones off the coast of Kalpitiya. Baththalangunduwa became a one of the favorite destination among travelers.
Route
Colombo->Negambo->Kalpitiya->Baththalangunduwa->Back to Kalpitiya
Special Remarks
- The boat leaves the jetty by 8.30AM. It doesn’t operate on Sundays.
- Boat costs Rs 270 per person and Rs 10 for entrance fee to the jetty.
- Parking space is available on fishery harbor area and it costs Rs 50.
- NO DRINKING WATER : Bring Sufficient water but there are two shops you can take limited items.
- Boat Travel Duration : 3 Hours and it returns at 1.30PM. You have maximum 2hrs to go around there.
- Camping on the island is possible as long as travelers bring the needful.
Let’s walk with our journey – Beach Camping
We have started our journey at 11.30 form Colombo and reached at 3AM to Negombo. The Frist bus is started by 4AM form Negombo. Hurry up.. Get Ready for catching boat. You have to find the 1st bus for Kalpitiya and This is the only bus you can reach Kalpitiya before vessel leaves. After taking breakfast we started the boat ride and the journey of about 26 kilometers from Kalpitiya across the Dutch Bay takes about three hours in the ferry. This boat, a private owned mid size old vessel (boat) and this is the only available public transport medium which runs up and down once a day.
After 3 Hours of amazing boat ride finally we reached to our destination of Baththalangunduwa. Then we kept our bags in police post and started to walk around the island. Spending times on taking photography, collected few fish for dinner, after that we setup our tent in secure place and ready for an amazing night.
After taking dinner we had chat with few fisherman and played the card. its was a good experience stayed with them with bunch of experiences.
The Beauty of Baththalangunduwa
The island is an incomparable beauty. It has one of the loveliest beaches I’ve ever seen in Sri Lanka. Absolutely Baththalangunduwa is a hidden gem. The best time to visit Baththalangunduwa Beach is during the dry months ( between October to May ). Most of the island is opened apart from the small area with some coconut groves and tiny mangrove shrubs. The sun burns over this open land for about 10 months within the year making it’s a perfect location for fishing and dried fish industry.
Culture of Baththalangunduwa.
Battalangunduwa is a fishing village. There said to be a population of quite 3000 within the village. Most of them are Catholics came mainly from Chilaw and Negombo areas.There said to be a substantial population of Tamil Catholic from Jaffna and around. Therefore the culture in Battalangunduwa is a stimulating mix. Their language may be a mixture of Tamil and Sinhalese, so does their culture. The one and only livelihood within the island is fishing.The island borders the vast Indian Ocean from one side and therefore the large Portugal Bay from the opposite .Most of the island is opened for travelers.
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Anusha
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