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Sri Lanka, the Land of Delights 

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Must Visit Locations

Best Beaches of the World: Rekawa Beach, Sri Lanka

The beach at Rekawa village, 10km east of Tangalla Bay Beach, is home to one of the most important sea turtle nesting sites in Sri Lanka, visited by five different species which lay their eggs in the sand here every night throughout the year.

The best time to see turtles is between January & April; periods when there's a full moon. Fullish moon too are good throughout the year, because there are both more turtles & more light to see them by. Rekawa has recorded 23 turtles in one night. We will definitely see at least a couple of turtles every night.

We wait long hours in the pitch black beach. At last, one arrives in the midnight crawling across the beach, away from sea. It leaves, on its path, a remarkable trail which looks as if a one-wheeled tractor has driven straight up out to the sea. It's an agonizingly slow crawl of exhausting half an hour by a creature not adapted to the land. Having reached the top of the beach, the turtle then spend about another 45 minutes digging an enormous hole. Silence of the midnight is broken by periodic thrashing & sound of great clouds of sand being scuffed up. As the turtle begins to lay eggs, we can get close to watch, although all we could see is the turtle's backside with eggs-looking just like ping-pong balls-periodically popping out in twos & threes. The turtle then rests, fills in the hole & eventually crawls back down to the sea. It's an epic effort, the sight of which makes the whole evening-long experience worthwhile.

In the absence of government sponsored project, the turtle eggs are then taken to be re-buried in a secure location, by the villagers who make a basic living from entertaining tourists. These creatures have acted as a rare bridge between marine & terrestrial ecosystems for 100 million years, enriching both as they steadfastly undertake their remarkable two-realm life cycle. We refuse to buy eggs for consumption. We refuse to buy turtle products.

 

It's an honour to meet you

To see a hawkbill gliding through a school of tropical fish while snorkeling, or observe the timeless ritual of female leatherback hauling herself up the natal beach to nest is an honour to be cherished.

Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
This omnivorous creature is the smallest species of sea turtle, weighing less than 40kg.

Hawksbill (Eretmochelys)
A beautiful endangered creature

Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)
The name is a tribute to its blunt head that encompasses a powerful set of jaws used to crush crustaceans & mollusks that make up its carnivorous diet.

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)
A unique life cycle sees it relying on crustaceans when young only to subsist on vegetative matter when mature. An endangered creature

Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea)
Can exceed 600kg in weight. It is named for its carapace, which consists of star-shaped bones covered not with the plate-like scales of most turtles but with a leathery black skin. This flexible carapace allows the leatherback to withstand diving to a depth of 1600m in pursuit of the jellyfish on which it feeds. A single prey source has fostered an ability to regulate its own body temperature. That is why the leatherback has been observed feeding at the Arctic Circle, almost 4500km away from their tropical nesting beaches.

Sri Lanka Hotel Guide - Hotel Information, Special Offers, News and Trends and much more

Sri Lanka Travel Guide - Travel Information, Special Offers, News and Trends and much more

Photo Gallery

click on photo to enlarge

Rekawa Beach

Rekawa Lagoon

Rekawa Lagoon

Rekawa Sanctuary

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Green Turtle Returning to Sea

Turtle Eggs

Views of Rekawa Beach

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