tropical fish in Sri Lanka

As i AM visiting Sri Lanka soon for the first time (my first visit to the tropics) I have heard there are coral reefs where lovely fish can be seen. I have never done any sub aqua diving etc but would like to know please if there are any area one can swim with goggles on and see nice fish such as seen by me on one website.

If anyone can assist I would be most grateful

Yours with thanks

Ian

tropical fish in Sri Lanka

Hi again Ian,

Presumably you mean snorkeling, which is far easier to learn than scuba. Reefs are not so good as they used to be, due to fishing/pollution/tsunami, but still enough to see. The %26#39;good%26#39; places start at Hikkaduwa in the southwest (also nice glass-bottom boat trips there over the reefs), but even better reefs for swimming/snorkeling are in the south: e.g. Mirissa-Polhena. Usually in these areas also training in snorkeling can be obtained.

Hope this helps as a starter,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

tropical fish in Sri Lanka

Hi Ian,

I%26#39;ve snorkelled in the places that Erik has mentioned as well as a few more.

Polhenna,,, OK for snorkelling but not too many fish. The beach has lots of broken coral since the tsunami and it can get a bit rough on your feet. There can be a very strong current inside the ref runnin from west to east . Last tim I was there, there was a rope set up just above the surface to grab if in trouble as the current was that strong.

Mirissa.. No coral reef here. The main beach is open to the sea with a few rocks near the western end. At the eastern end of the beach , there is a very small beach in a seperate bay, which is partially protected by rocks but no coral there and because of the currents, the visibilty under water is very poor. You can swim there all year around though.

Uawatuna.. Some parts of te reef are Ok for snorkelling but it%26#39;s rocksrather than coralso some fish but not too many types.

Hikkaduwa. The best place that I%26#39;ve tried around that southwest corner of the island.

The coral has been damaged in the past by bleaching and even by dynamite.. It used to be blasted and used as a building material with the dead fish that floated up as a bonus,.

Thankfully, that has been stopped for a long time now and the reef is protected. Even the guys with the glass bottom boats are usually careful of breaking the coral as they reralise it%26#39;s their living.

And, also thankfully, in many places the coral is regrowing . Now the best place to snorkel around this stretch of coast.

Thats from the reef protectd beach. Don%26#39;t get mixed up with the bigger beach running south from Hikkaduwa as there%26#39;s nothing to snorkel for on that bit. Good for surfing out there though.

About the centre of the reef protected beach, in front of the Coral Sands Hotel, you only need to swim out about 30 metres and you%26#39;re over coral with a great number of varieties of colourful fish.

Rod.

Are there any snorkelling opportunities around Tangalle?? like to do some diving/snorkelling but don%26#39;t plan on going to Hikkaduwa.

The places we intend to stay are:

Tangalle 2 nights, Kadolana beach resort 1 or 2 nights, Mirissa 2 nights, Unawatuna 1 night and Bentota (river) 1 or 2 nights...

Can you see us getting any decent dives/snorkelling action please guys?

Hi faceman,

as you%26#39;re going to Unawatuna, you could try there but more rocks than coral so not such a variety of fish.

One place I do intend trying on my next trip is near the Kadolana. If you walk along to the far end of the Kadolana beach, past the fishing harbour, the lane turns right and runs inland . A couple of hundred metres up that lane, there%26#39;s a signed footpath leads off to the right , for the blowhole.

The path leads uphill over a rocky outcrop, then dips, with a small beach on the left before climbing again up onto the headand were the blowhole spouts.

I visited that small beach a couple of years ago and it looked promising. I intend to go there again next month and search around there and the next beach to it,well, not so much the beach but the rocky headlands either side.

Unfortunately, I won%26#39;t be back til beginning of April and have no idea when I%26#39;ll be near a computer between start of Feb and end of March.

If you%26#39;re going after that I can let you know what I find.

Apart from that, I have been told of a small coral reef somewhere around Ahangama but havn%26#39;t got any details.

Rod.

Cheers Rod, I%26#39;ll be there in 3 weeks so I%26#39;ll take a walk to the blowhole and take a snorkle + fins with me to have a look. I%26#39;m a strong swimmer and live by the sea (in England) so I%26#39;l see what the swimming conditions look like and if they are ok I%26#39;ll go for a dip!!

I guess it%26#39;s the same in Sri Lanka as any place in the world, ask when you get there and if there are decent reefs around, you%26#39;ll be able to find out!!

Cheers for the help.

Dear all

thank you for so many replies with a wealth of information.

I dont know much about fish but would like to see some in Sri Lanka

I have used goggles before but never a snorkel. Is it hard to use a snorkel please

Yours with thanks

Ian

Hi Ian,

If you enjoy swimming, then you%26#39;ll enjoy using a snorkel.

When you start, you don%26#39;t have to go under or anything uncomfortable, you%26#39;ll find that , when you have a mask and snorkel on, laying face down in the water,you%26#39;ll float and within a couple of minutes, be breathng easily and confidently. No effort needed at all and when you%26#39;re over a shallow reef you%26#39;re in a whole different world.

If you think you%26#39;d like it and maybe get a bit more adventurous, such as surface diving, down under the surface, then best to look for a snorkel with a blow out valve near the mouth piece.

If you%26#39;re happy on the surface then just a plain, cheap snorkel will do you.

I guess, that if you%26#39;re interested, you%26#39;ll love it

and like I said, just to swim the surface , face down in the water and breathing easily, watching all the marine life around you, is great.

Rod,

Dear Rod

Thanks for the information it is most helpful I will give it a go

Thanks to all for the useful information

Ian