Ahungalla is a small coastal town, located in

Galle District Galle ( ''gālla distrikkaya''; ''Kāli māvattam'') is a Districts of Sri Lanka, district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the co ...

Southern Province, Sri Lanka The Southern Province ( ''Dakuṇu Paḷāta'', ''Theṉ Mākāṇam'') of Sri Lanka is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did no ...

, governed by an

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

. It is approximately south of

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

and is situated at an elevation of above the sea level.

History

Ahungalla is known primarily for its sandy beach, accompanied by a wide palm belt, considered to be one of the best on the island. The village is located about south of

Bentota Bentota is a coastal town in Sri Lanka, located in the Galle District of the Southern Province. It is approximately south of Colombo and north of Galle. Bentota is situated on the southern bank of the Bentota River mouth, at an elevation ...

, north of the provincial capital

Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...

at Cape Point Ahungalla. The neighboring villages are

Kosgoda Kosgoda is a small town in the Galle District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, approximately north of Galle and south of Colombo. The town is known for its turtle nesting areas, where five ...

to the north and

Balapitiya Balapitiya is a coastal town, in south west Sri Lanka. It is located in the Southern Province in Sri Lanka. It is situated south of Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by popu ...

in the south. Southeast of the town is the

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

area of Madu Ganga. The largest and most well-known building in the town is the luxury hotel, Heritance Ahungalla (formerly Hotel Triton), designed by notable Sri Lankan

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Geoffrey Bawa Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, (23 July 191927 May 2003) was a Sri Lankan architect. Often referred to as the leader of the Tropical Modernist movement, he was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. Early life Geoff ...

, and constructed from 1979 to 1981. As with the entire region Ahungalla was devastated by the

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

caused by the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicenter, epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Submarine earthquake, undersea ...

Transport

Ahungalla is located on the

Coastal A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

or Southern Rail Line (connecting Colombo through to Matara), and the A2 highway, connecting Colombo to

Wellawaya Wellawaya (; ) is a town located in Monaragala District, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. History On 25 August 1630 a major battle took place near Wellawaya between Portuguese forces and the Sinhalese under the command of King Rajasinghe II, which re ...

Facilities

* Ahungalla railway station - few trains however stop at this station * Rajapaksha College

Attractions

* Ahungalla beach

References

Populated places in Galle District Populated places in Southern Province, Sri Lanka Seaside resorts in Sri Lanka {{SouthernLK-geo-stub

History

Transport

Facilities

Attractions

See also

References