Things to do in Matara

A palm-topped headland jutting into the sea at Mirissa, one of the most photographed spots on the south coast.

An ancient temple town near the southern tip of the island, once a great medieval pilgrimage port, host to a famous Esala festival.

The tallest lighthouse in Sri Lanka, standing on Dondra Head, the southernmost point of the island.

A large Dutch-era seafront fort enclosing part of the old town on a promontory between the Nilwala River and the sea.

Sri Lanka's premier whale-watching launch point, where dawn boats head into deep water off the south coast to find blue and sperm whales.

A small Buddhist temple on a rocky islet just off the Matara shore, reached by an elegant cable-stayed footbridge.

A calm, reef-protected lagoon beach just southwest of Matara town, popular for safe swimming and snorkelling.

A compact six-pointed Dutch star fort of 1765, with a small museum inside its bastioned walls near the Nilwala River.

A temple complex east of Matara famous for one of Sri Lanka's largest seated Buddha statues and a tunnel of painted murals.

A wide, gently curving bay just west of Mirissa, known for beginner-friendly surf and the famous stilt fishermen of the south coast.