Arugam Bay The east coast's surf point, in season from April to October

Where to stay in Arugam Bay

Things to do from Arugam Bay

• Water and coast · a session of a few hours from sunrise, or a lesson on each day of a staySurfing the point breaks of Arugam BayArugam Bay is the only venue in Sri Lanka for international surf competitions and has hosted most of them since 2004; its Main Point is a right-hand reef break of up to 750 m. More breaks lie a short drive away, Pottuvil Point to the north and Elephant Rock, Peanut Farm and Okanda to the south.
• Nature and wildlife · about 6 hours, leaving between 05:00 and 06:00, with about 4 and a half hours inside the parkBirds and elephants in Kumana National ParkKumana, once called Yala East, adjoins Yala on the south-east coast and is known above all for its birds: 255 species are recorded, and its mangrove swamp, the Kumana villu, is one of the most important nesting grounds in the country. Black-necked storks, lesser adjutants and Eurasian spoonbills breed here, and pelicans, ibises and herons arrive in large flocks.
• Nature and wildlife · about 2 hours, best from 16:00A boat through the Pottuvil lagoon mangrovesPottuvil lagoon lies behind the town of Pottuvil, 4 km north of Arugam Bay, a brackish water of mangrove channels bordered on its far side by Lahugala National Park. Small wooden boats take guests through it with a local boatman, past eagles, kingfishers, herons and crocodiles.
• Nature and wildlife · an early morning or an afternoon until the 16:30 closeElephants at the tanks of LahugalaLahugala Kitulana is among the smallest national parks in Sri Lanka, 1,554 hectares of dry forest and scrub about 16 km inland from Pottuvil, around 3 old, largely silted tanks: Lahugala, Kitulana and Sengamuwa. The tall beru grass that covers them is a favourite food of elephants, and in the driest months herds of up to 150 gather here.
• Culture and heritage · about 2 hours on site, about an hour's drive south of Arugam Bay; it joins well with a morning at KumanaKudumbigala, the forest hermitage near KumanaKudumbigala is a Buddhist forest hermitage near Panama, founded by tradition in 246 BC under King Devanampiyatissa and counted among the first monasteries built for monks on the island. More than 200 rock caves, some with Brahmi inscriptions under their drip ledges, are spread through the jungle, with a cylindrical stupa said to be the only one of its kind in Sri Lanka.
• Culture and heritage · a morning or a late afternoon, both temples a short drive from Arugam BayThe temples of the Viharamahadevi legendLegend tells that Princess Devi of Kelaniya was set adrift to calm the sea, came ashore at Pottuvil and married King Kavantissa of Ruhuna, becoming Viharamahadevi, mother of King Dutugamunu. Muhudu Maha Vihara, a temple of more than 2,000 years on the Pottuvil dunes, marks her landing, with a white stupa, stone Buddha figures and ruins still half buried in the sand.
• Wellness · about an hour, in the early morning or the late afternoonYoga by the surf at Arugam BayThe surf season brings yoga with it: open-air shalas in the gardens of the places to stay along the bay hold daily classes in the morning and the late afternoon, timed around the surf. Styles vary by teacher through the season, and all levels are welcome.
• Culture and heritage · a morning, about 50 minutes' drive south of Arugam BayOkanda, the Murugan temple on the pilgrims' pathOkanda is a hamlet at the edge of Kumana National Park, about 50 minutes' drive south of Arugam Bay, and home to Ukanthamalai Murugan Kovil, a temple to the Hindu god Murugan. The main shrine stands at the foot of 2 rocky hillocks, each with a small shrine on its summit, the first to Murugan's spear and the second to his consort Valli, and a spring in front of the Valli shrine is held sacred. On the beach about 100 m away lies a boat-shaped rock, said to be the stone boat in which Murugan and Valli came ashore.
• Nature and wildlife · part of a morning or an afternoon, with Panama about 20 minutes southBy tuk-tuk to the tanks and fields around PanamaSouth of Arugam Bay, the road to Panama, the last village before Kumana National Park and about 12 km away, runs through paddy fields and village lanes, past tanks and scrub. A tuk-tuk ride with a local driver follows it without entering the park, and monkeys, elephants and crocodiles may be seen along the way, though sightings are a matter of luck.
• Dining · an evening, arranged with your stayDinner on the sand at Pottuvil PointThe places to stay at Pottuvil Point, on the beach north of Arugam Bay, will set dinner out on the sand: a candlelit table by the water under the stars, a barbecue on the beach, or a meal in the coconut grove behind it.
• Wellness · booked with your stayA massage or Ayurveda treatment with your stayPlaces to stay around Arugam Bay arrange massage and treatments in Ayurveda, the traditional system of medicine with roots in the Indian subcontinent. At the beach houses of Pottuvil Point they are given on request, and a resort by the Whiskey Point break has its own spa with a menu of treatments.