The Sands

Unawatuna beach is famous for its great sunsets and white sand, the rolling surf ideal for surfing, snorkeling & diving in the coral reef, or take a ride in glass bottom boat, which guards the Unawatuna beach, smack your lips on a succulent lobster/seafood BBQ, dance your cares away to reggae beats in the night, walk through the sand listening to the charming legends concerning Unawatuna beach and how the village’s name is associated with the rocks rising at the west end of the beach. The rocky outcrop, looking strangely out of place in the landscape, is known as Rumassala in Unawatuna beach, and is famous for its herbs.

The first legend is linked to poet Valmiki’s epic of Ramayana, where the monkey chief drops a part of Himalayan region which he carried to help the recovery of Rama, struck down by Ravana’s arrows, today Rumassala hill in Unawatuna beach is known to be filled with a great variety of unusual vegetation and protected valuable medicinal herbs not found anywhere else in the area, making this story seem mysteriously possible. Take a walk along the paths through the jungle that covers Rumassala to the top of the hill where an edifice is being built by Japanese monks of the Mahayana sect.

The other legend has it that a banished Indian Prince was shipwrecked nearby, and Manimekala, the goddess of Earth taking pity on him, created a rocky shelf for him to land on at Unawatuna beach. Pattini, the Goddess of Chastity, created a wall of fire to prevent him coming ashore, but being a person of supreme power he set in motion a tidal-wave with his foot and extinguished the fire. He is supposed to have lived in Unawatuna beach area and helped the people in various ways. He is the deity worshipped at the “Devale” situated on the headland.