Bentota area
Sun, Sea and Sand
The Bentota Ganga (River) makes a large sweep to the south
before turning to flow northwards into the Indian Ocean.
At this point, river and sea form a narrow spit of land
almost 3 km long, which is the main beach area and resort
hotel centre for the Bentota area. Many of the hotels
and guest houses are located around the sea lagoon and
some of these are accessible only by boat.
Bentota and Alutgama are connected by a bridge spanning the
mouth of the Bentota Ganga, with Alutgama to the north.
Both towns benefit from their close proximity to the
river and lagoon, although the beaches in this area
are becoming well developed and busy during the high
season (December to April). For a more tranquil feel,
head 5 km further south to Induruwa, which has a quieter
stretch of beach next to a peaceful fishing village.
Another long sandy beach can be found at Ahungalla,
about 15 km south of Bentota.
What to See and Do
 The
Bentota Ganga is navigable for about 15 km upstream
and a boat trip will take you on a leisurely tour of
riverside villages and through tropical jungle. Further
afield is Brief Garden, the lifetime's work of its creator,
the celebrated landscape artist, sculptor and bon-vivant,
Bevis Bawa - the elder brother of Geoffrey Bawa, Sri
Lanka's most famous architect. A visit to
Ambalangoda, home to the famous mask carvers and dancers,
and puppet makers of Sri Lanka, is also within easy
reach of Bentota.
Ambalangoda
- Mask Carving and Dancing
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Ambalangoda is about 25 km south of
Bentota (27 km north of Galle) and the town is the centre
for a still-thriving form of south-west coast folk art
- mask carving and dancing. The two are inextricably
linked, and every effort should be made to see a performance
in the Ambalangoda area if you possibly can as this
is where this traditional theatre is still practised
in its purest form.
There are two totally different types
of dance-dramas in the area. Kolam, which is designed
to be uplifting and instructional, always requires the
figures of the king and queen, since they are said to
have invented the mask dances. The royal couple wear
very elaborate, high masks, and move accordingly with
slow dignity. They form the framework for various funny,
serious or didactic Buddhist dance-dramas, usually set
in a village environment.
Sanni yakuma, a form of ritual healing
through exorcism, actually belongs to the area of traditional
medicine. If a sick person does not get better after
taking either Ayurvedic (traditional treatment using
herbal medicines) or Allopathic (Western) medicines,
this is thought to be due to demons who interfere with
the relationship between the sick person and their social
environment, thus causing illness. The ritual, in which
not only the performance of various dances but also
cleansing ceremonies play an important part, consists
of luring the demons, appeasing them (paying!), and
finally driving them away. The leader of the 18 sanniyas,
or illness demons, is called Maha Kola and his is mask
face is designed to be especially frightening.
A visit to Ambalangoda can be best
enjoyed via a 3-hour tour from either Bentota or Galle.
The Bentota Ganga is calm as it flows
into the ocean, as are the coastal waters, and so the
area is ideal for watersports. The river is navigable
for about 15 km upstream and a boat trip will take you
on a leisurely tour of riverside villages and through
tropical jungle. Upstream the river forms an inland
lagoon, an aquatic maze dotted with small islands and
fringed with mangrove swamps. This forest on the water
is a permanent home of herons, cormorants, eagles and
kingfishers, as well as some predators such as crocodiles
and water monitors.
Most of the principal sites of interest
can be enjoyed in a 3-hour return boat trip from Bentota.
Sixteen km inland from Bentota, you
will find the paradise garden of Brief. The garden was
the lifetime's work of its creator, the celebrated landscape
artist, sculptor and bon-vivant, Bevis Bawa - the elder
brother of Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka's most famous architect
whose work includes the new Houses of Parliament in
Colombo. Bevis Bawa started clearing the surrounding
rubber plantation in 1929, and over the next six decades
he went on to create a verdant, romantic folly of inviting
alcoves, nooks and bowers and garden sculpture that
turned him into Sri Lanka's own Capability Brown. Entering
though a thick bamboo hedge via a statue-capped gate,
you discover the Japanese garden, wide lawns, a pond
and a hilltop lookout, several walled gardens and many
other hidden surprises. Most visitors find themselves
staying here longer than they intended.
Bevis Bawa died in 1992 and left no
heir, but the 10-hectare estate was distributed amongst
his faithful workers, each according to their years
of service. 'Brief', which got its name because Bawa's
barrister father bought the land with money from a successful
legal case, contains the garden and a secluded villa,
and stands in a quiet location between coconut plantations
and paddy fields. Bawa's private collection of paintings,
sculptures, photographs and furniture (many colonial
antiques) provides an added incentive to visit the bird-filled
landscaped garden with cool, shady woodland paths, many
mature indigenous trees, exotic flowering plants and
interesting water features. A visit to this paradisiacal
garden and the elegant, tasteful house is highly recommended.
A visit to Brief Garden can be best
enjoyed via a 3-hour tour from Bentota.
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