Bentota
Bentota located on the Colombo Matara highway
is famous for its far stretched sandy beaches
and of course the sea delicacy oysters. The
coastal village gained its reputation as a tourist
resort in the early 19th century. Today it houses
some very exclusive resort hotels as well as
many lodges are available for a comfort decent
stay at this beach town. The Bentara Ganga that
runs through has now attracted water sport fans
and enthusiasts who enjoy water rafting, water
skiing, wind surfing and many more. This river
also provides tourists with the main recreational
pursuit - boating. Cruises up the river give
an opportunity to observe a variety of fauna
associated with such an environment, such as
crocodiles. In addition there is the cultural
attraction of the 12th century Galapat Vihara,
just 5 kilometers upriver away from the town.
During the early Dutch rule the town had a small
rest house which is the base for Bentota Beach
resort designed by the Geoffry Bawa. Today,
Bentota hosts the 100-acre National Holiday
Tourist Resort complex, which m consists of
several major tourist hotels, a shopping centre,
and exhibition centre. The main hotel in the
resort is built on the site of the old British
rest house and borders both the beach and river.
Bentota's wide beach is ideal for swimming all
year around though attracts tourists during
the month of October through April for all types
of beach sport.
The main source of life style is fishing though
other traditional products such as coir from
coconut and famous local liquor arrack brewed
from coconut (coconut alcohol) and dry land
spices that were famous during the colonial
era thus were also exported to South India.
Little wonder that the mixture of oysters and
the romantic surroundings resulted in the Bentota
rest house becoming a favourite haunt of honeymooning
couples. The oysters were collected by divers
at mid-tide on rocks in the adjoining estuary.
Having reached the bottom a few fathoms down,
the divers began to knock the oysters off the
rocks with a mallet, an operation that could
be heard by those above the water. Once they
had filled a small net with oysters, the divers
returned to the surface, handed the net over
to a helper, took another lungful of air, and
disappeared below the water again.
Though oyster fishing is a rare site relishing
a mouthful at Bentota is sure delight. The oysters
found here are similar in taste to those found
in England and similar in shape with those found
in the Australian shores. The commodities and
traffic in this busy town in keeping with the
idyllic character of the surroundings, with
the primitive furniture of the native huts,
and the elementary character of their owners’
dress. By far the common foods are rice and
curry, followed by a mouthful of betel and areca,
the favourite luxury. These and other matters
for sale lie temptingly spread on wide green
banana leaves in simple booths, with an open
front, serving at once as door and window. Between
these are heaps of coconuts, monstrous bunches
of bananas, and piles of scented pineapples;
enormous breadfruit and the nearly allied jack-fruit;
and then, as delicacies, the noble mango and
the dainty anona, or custard-apple.
The greatest natural wonder at Bentota is the
river, the Bentara-ganga, which separates the
Southern from the Western Province. Even then,
a trip up the river usually took in a visit
to the 12th century Galapatha Vihara, is approached
by a wide avenue of fruit trees, and by several
flights of granitic stone steps. At noon, the
avenue is delightfully shaded from the sun,
and the rills of pure water which flow to the
right of the road render it a charming rendezvous
for a picnic, after a day’s excursion
in the neighborhood.
Today, the colonial honeymooners and picnickers
are long gone; as is the resthouse, which was
replaced by the Geoffrey Bawa-designed Bentota
Beach Hotel, part of a 100-acre National Holiday
Tourist Resort complex. This complex consists
of several major tourist hotels, a shopping
arcade, a square with a bank, post office and
police station, and a pond shaped like a map
of Sri Lanka. The railway station is situated
in the centre of the resort and has direct access
to the beach.
Bentota resort is a good stop by for those wanting
to experience the long stretched beaches along
the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean surrounding
Sri Lanka.
