Unawatuna is a coastal town on Sri Lanka's south coast with around 16 dive sites off its bay and along the approaches to Galle Harbour. Wrecks set it apart: the SS Rangoon, a steamship sitting upright at the harbour entrance, the SS Orestes, the iron cannons of the Galle Ship Wreck and the Lord Nelson, a small bulk carrier aground on a shallow reef since 1996. Reefs such as Napoleon Reef and the Aluth Gala pinnacle fill out the pool, along with the shallow reef off Jungle Beach.
About diving in Unawatuna & Jungle Beach
Dive boats work a pool of around 16 sites mixing reef, rock, wreck and night dives. Napoleon Reef is 10 minutes out, Aluth Gala 15, Diyamba Kupatha about 20 and Jungle Beach 25. The divemaster or instructor picks each dive by what the group wants to see and, above all, by each diver's certification limits.
Close to Galle Harbour the wrecks sit on sandy ground: the Rangoon at 32 m, the SS Orestes at 22 m and the Galle Ship Wreck at 18 m. The deeper sites are mostly rock, with valleys and swimthroughs. Most reef sites carry a mix of hard and soft corals down to 18 m, with plenty of macro life, many nudibranchs, stingrays on the sand and the odd Napoleon wrasse. The 1997 El Niño warm current bleached much of the coral on the south and west coasts.
Unawatuna is a good place to start diving, with sites for every level of experience. Beginners dive the wreck in Unawatuna Bay, no deeper than about 6 m, or the calm reef at Jungle Beach, while the Rangoon and the Orestes are kept for advanced divers. The Rumassala reefs at the east end of Galle Harbour are under threat from possible port development. From May to October, when the south coast is out of season, some centres dive from Trincomalee on the east coast.
Best time to dive Unawatuna & Jungle Beach
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good |
Boats on the south coast run from October to April. Inside that stretch, January to March is the whale-shark window, though a sighting takes luck. May to September falls outside the Unawatuna season. The sea is coolest in January and warmest in April, and it stays warm all year.
Dive types & marine life
A resident giant Napoleon wrasse of over 40 kg gives Napoleon Reef its name. Whale sharks may pass from January to March with luck. The reefs also hold turtles, many nudibranchs and stingrays on the sandy bottom.
- Wreck
- Reef
- Napoleon wrasse
- Whale sharks
- Dolphins
- Sea turtles
- Nudibranchs
- Stingrays
- Trevally & jacks
Best dive sites in Unawatuna & Jungle Beach
- 1
SS Rangoon
Steamship built in 1863, resting upright at the entrance of Galle Harbour
- 2
SS Orestes
The more intact of the two wrecks kept for advanced divers
- 3
Napoleon Reef
Reef with shallow and deeper areas that suits divers of all levels
- 4
Aluth Gala
Pinnacle dropping from 9 m to 25 m
- 5
Galle Ship Wreck
Some 20 large iron cannons on the seabed between Gibbet and Closenburg islands
- 6
Lord Nelson Wreck
Small bulk carrier that ran aground in 1996, now in 3 to 5 m on the Goda Gala reef
- 7
Diyamba Kupatha
Wide rocky reef with black and red corals, anemones, morays and trevally
- 8
Jungle Beach
Shallow reef from 4 m to 10 m, used by snorkellers and divers alike
Site guides
Pinnacle
A pinnacle with manta rays, scorpionfish, lionfish and morays
Reef
Black and red corals, with whale sharks sometimes seen in February
Wreck
Around 20 iron cannons spread across the seabed
A calm reef below Rumassala Mountain for snorkellers and divers
Wreck
A shallow wreck on the Goda Gala reef with open sections
Reef
A resident giant Napoleon wrasse that gives the reef its name
Wreck
Groupers in the engine room and morays all through the wreckage
Wreck
An 1871 steamship sitting upright with a bow like a Viking ship
How to get to Unawatuna & Jungle Beach
Unawatuna is 150 km south of Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake, over 3 hours by road through Colombo. Trains from Colombo Fort to Galle take 2 to 3 hours, then a tuk-tuk or local bus covers the last stretch. The dive centres are on Unawatuna beach.
Photos from Unawatuna & Jungle Beach
Creator9434 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Underwater Sri Lanka - Unawatuna. What Happens at a Depth of 11 meters. Jungle Beach. · Walking Rabbit - Virtual Tours on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can divers without a licence try diving at Unawatuna?+
Yes. Centres on Unawatuna beach run discovery dives for people without a licence, so a first dive needs no certificate.
Where are dolphins and whale sharks seen off Unawatuna?+
Diyamba Kupatha is where they are sometimes spotted, especially in February. It is an advanced dive at 25 to 30 m, and no sighting is assured.
Is the visibility reliable at Unawatuna?+
No. It ranges from 5 to 30 m depending on the weather, the current and the tides, and centres do not guarantee clear water.
Sources
- Unawatuna Dive Sites | Pearl Divers — Pearl Divers
- Pearl Divers — Pearl Divers
- Dive sites — Divinguru
- Submarine Diving Center - Into The Deeps — Submarine Diving Centre
- Unawatuna — Wikipedia
- Unawatuna — Wikivoyage
- Galle average sea temperature — seatemperature.org
Photo credits
- Collapsed, silt-covered wreck plating and long ribs on the seabed in green water, with a small fish at left by tmc1233, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Rocky shore at Jungle Beach below a green headland topped by a white stupa, with waves breaking on red-brown boulders by Creator9434, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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An early oil tanker and a deep rock pinnacle a short boat ride out
Nudibranch-rich rock pinnacles a short boat ride off the south coast
A manta cleaning station dived all year and a wartime tanker on her side at 33 m
Whale sharks live year-round on the South Ari reef shelf