Joanna James
Galle is one of Sri Lanka's most visited cities and is famous for its gorgeous beaches and vibrant culture. It is also home to some of the best dive sites in the country, here's a list of the top ten!
Of the numerous things to do in Galle, taking a trip down to Jungle beach has to be at the very top. If anything can beat the spectacular views of this Beach, it's the wonders of the coral reef found just off shore. The vibrantly coloured live coral are teeming with a massive variety of tropical reef fish and other marine life. Jungle Beach is a particularly great spot for beginner divers, with calm waters and depths reaching only about 15m. There is also an ongoing pearl cultivation project established here!
The Lord Nelson wreck is a modern sunken ship, the wreck had occurred as recently as the year 2000. The site is already thriving in marine life, however, and is a spectacular sight to behold. There are countless flora enveloping the wreck and plenty of fishes and other marine fauna living amidst it. The best part about the dive, however, is that it is frequented by Mantas!
Another wreck site, situated about 20m deep, this time featuring a freighter of Greek origin; the freighter, named Aenos, sank in 1956 when it hit a rock called 'Rala Gala'. The wreck is now home to numerous live coral and marine life and provides shelter to many fishes including porcupine fish, large titan triggerfish, giant morays and snappers. The site is relatively unexplored adding to its mystery.
This site is located about 5-minutes off Unawatuna in Galle. The site is made of rock and coral with a huge rock rising from the bottom of the sea. The area is home to many tropical fishes and is frequented by a few species of Rays as well.
This spectacular reef site starts at 6m deeps and continues down to about 18m. The reef spreads out over 1Km of land and contains both reef and rock. The dive site is particularly great to encounter Napoleon fish - a species that grows to be more than 40kg in weight! The site is also home to Groupers and Moray eels.
This dive site consists of many rocky areas and live corals that spread over an area of about 1Km. The site has great visibility at most times and has a tremendous array fascinating fishes and marine life including rays, groupers, snappers, eels, turtles and barracudas.
Galapita Gala is an underwater natural rocky terrain that features fantastic marine life, both flora and fauna, from coral trees, fan corals and soft corals to sponges and sea worms to sting rays, manta rays, lionfish and blue ring angel fish. The dive site is about 25 metres deep.
Reef wreck is not a wreck site, but rather features a gorgeous natural reef, one of the best in Unawatuna, Galle. The reef is particularly famous for its collection endemic reef fishes! In addition to its endemics, reef wreck also harbours a great many Damselfish, goatfish, snappers, bannerfish, butterfly fish, yellow finned trevally, emperors and hosts more!
Diyamba Kupatha is another site in Unawatuna; the site reaches depths between 25 to 30m. It is a rocky area and contains black and red corals, trevally and brilliantly coloured anemone. The site is best undertaken during February when it gets an occasional visit from dolphins and whale sharks!
Aluth Gala site features a pinnacle dive that begins at around 9m deep and reaches depths of around 25m. The dive site is a great place to see manta rays, leaf scorpion fish, lion fish, stone fishes, barracudas and snappers.
Most dive centres in Galle, located at various beaches, take divers out to all these sites provided they have the required license and experience. Many hotels in Galle like Cantaloupe Aqua Hotel Galle are located within close proximity to dive centres.
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