
Weligama & Mirissa · Sri Lanka · Reef
Patch Point
Clown triggerfish and honeycomb morays 3 km off Mirissa Beach
Photo: Bernard Picton · CC BY-SA 4.0
Patch Point lies south-east of Weligama Bay, about 3 km in front of Mirissa Beach, on a bottom strewn with small round rocks, and the dive reaches 20 m. Powder blue surgeonfish, clown triggerfish, honeycomb moray eels and stingrays live among the stones.
Also known as Prince Heinrich's Patch, Prince Heinrichs Patch, PHP.
Where it is and how deep
5.9162° N, 80.4618° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Patch Point appears on Sri Lanka's maritime charts as Prince Heinrichs Patch. Small round rocks are spread all over the site: merchant ships arriving here threw overboard the stones they carried, to make room for spices bound for Europe.
The dive goes down to 20 m among these stones. Powder blue surgeonfish and clown triggerfish live on the site, along with honeycomb moray eels and stingrays.
Marine life and season
- Stingrays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Weligama & Mirissa: The best time for diving Patch Point is December through April.
Dive videos
Scuba diving in Sri Lanka (Patch Point, Weligama) · Phenomenal Globe on YouTube
Sources
- Patch Point - Weligama Bay Dive Centre — Weligama Bay Dive Centre
Photo credits
- One oval nudibranch, pale blue-grey with black lines, yellow spots and an orange rim, crawling over red encrusted rock by Bernard Picton, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Weligama & Mirissa
Pinnacle
Barracudas hunting over a pinnacle top carpeted in blue triggerfish
Reef
A sandy-bottomed training site that doubles as a night dive
Reef
The bay's densest cluster of swim-throughs and little caves
Pinnacle
Swim-throughs in little caves and a fusilier school on the summit
Similar dives elsewhere
Coral reef below the Indian subcontinent's only active volcano
Stingrays and morays drawn to a fish-factory outflow
Gorgonians, tube sponges and brain corals in a protected islet reef
Shallow coral and a multitude of small reef fish



