The town of Beruwala is located at the Kalutara District in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. This town is governed by an Urban Council and the name – Beruwala is taken from the Sinhalese word for the place in which the sail is lowered. Around 8th century AD, the Muslim traders came into this place and marked the first Muslim settlement in this island. Also, a lot of Sri Lankan Moors (A number of them are gem merchants) still resides in this place, especially in the ‘China Fort’. In addition to this, the Muslim traders built the iconic Masjid-ul-Abrar, which is the ancient mosque of Sri Lanka on a rock-strewn peninsula neglecting the town.
Beruwala has everything from the tropical weather with perfect holiday spots to seaside resorts and attractive beaches. Apart from these attractions, Beruwala is famous for Ayurvedic treatments as almost all the hotels provide special herbal messages and stream baths. So, let’s take a tour to Beruwala and discover its beauties.
Things to See in Beruwala
Beruwala Lighthouse: The Beruwala lighthouse is a well organized international lighthouse. It is situated off the beach of Beruwala and it resides at the charming and lush green Berberyn Island. You can reach the island by a ten minute’s boat ride. The lighthouse is standing on a cliff that is 20 feet above the sea level. If you climb up the lighthouse, you will experience the stunning Ariel views of Beruwala beach with its marvelous surroundings.
China Fort: China Fort happens to be the gem trading fair of Beruwala. It is dominated by the Sri Lankan Muslims, who is responsible for 7% of the entire population of Sri Lanka. Also, these Sri Lankan Muslims are the successor of Moors. In addition to this China Fort has been conducting gem trading for several generations and the merchants of China Fort supply almost all the precious gemstones to the entire world. The Muslims of Sri Lanka has roots that date back to the era of North Africa’s Barbary States-Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Libya. The people of these countries had dominated the sea from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.
Kachimalai Mosque: The ancient mosque of Sri Lanka is the Kachimalai Mosque. This mosque has a significant history because it memorializes the place where the Moors had arrived in the 11th century.
Galapata Temple: Galapata Buddhist Temple was created in the 12th century. It showcases some of the most beautiful wall frescos and they are a must visit sights for the tourists.
Things to do in Beruwala
Beruwala Harbor: A stroll around the Beruwala fishing port in the morning can provide a sight of fisherman’s talking out the fishes from vibrantly tinted canoes and fishing boats. The boats were returned from night fishing in the deep sea and they are now lined up. The fish market looks very lively and trades fresh seafood from one end to the other. Among the fishes that they catch are prawns and lobsters. Beruwala is a conventional fish market. It’s bloody and smelly. Along the jetty are piles of dry fish.
Beruwala shopping: The unrelenting beach sales force will try to sell you everything that they have from doormats to leather goods. The locals are resolute; however they are not uncouth or violent as a lot of them support their families by selling these products. Following the tsunami and extensive destruction many people have lost their day-to-day jobs. Currently, they sell items to the tourists for livelihood.
Beruwala Beach: Beruwala town is renowned for its attractive beaches. Of the most beautiful beaches, the ‘Golden Mile’ is an immaculate and broad beach with gold sand. The beach is surrounded by palm groves that stretch to the coastal area. In addition to this, this wide and long beach laze around in the glowing sun while staying in line with the ocean with lush green landside back it up wonderfully. Furthermore, this unique town has extraordinary water sports facilities like – water scooter ride, parasailing, water skiing, windsurfing, etc. You can swim in the bay as it is always safe during the year. On top of that, you can hop over for deep-sea fishing and coral reef driving.
How is the weather of Beruwala?
The climate of Beruwala is tropical. In this town, a significant amount of rainfall is seen during the whole year. The standard yearly temperature is 26.8 c in and the precipitation rate here averages around 3068mn. The temperature is always high on average. In the month of March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December a lot of rainfall is seen. In Beruwala, the warmest month is January. The coldest is September, wettest is May and driest is January.
How to reach Beruwala?
In order to reach Beruwala from the capital city of Colombo, you have to opt for a bus, but you can also get to Beruwala by train also. However, travelling by train would not be a good option since there are a few trains which stop here. Additionally, you will have to reach Aluthgama to get to Beruwala as the train stop in that place. Now, a regular train starts from Kandy to Aluthgama at 05:00 without change and the train arrives at 09:58 at Aluthgama.
Furthermore, you can also reach Beruwala by bus. First take the bus from the northeastern end of Arrivals pavement to Katunayake bus stand. You can reach this place by free shuttle bus. From this bus stand, take no – 187 bus to Colombo Fort. Next, choose among different buses with different routes (to e.g. Aluthgama, Ambalangoda, Galle, Matara, Kataragama), but keep in mind that all of them will pass along Beruwala. You will need to journey around four hours on the road because you have to change vehicles three times with two transfers.
To finish off, Beruwala is a classic city town with graceful sightseeing attractions. It is a place with innumerable histories and inimitable natural surroundings. When you visit to Beruwala, always make sure that you have visited these attractions and do the aforementioned things. Remember that a travel trip becomes successful when you enjoy the entire atmosphere fully and Beruwala will just offer you the kind of atmosphere to thrive in your travel trip with our Beruwala travel guide.
For inquires contact Olanka Travels. Check our 6 days in Sri Lanka itinerary to include Beruwala.
