Coconut Tree Hill is a lateritic

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

in Mirissa,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

located adjacent to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. It is a popular tourist destination in the country and is located at a headland with a coconut plantation. Coconut Tree Hill, despite being located on privately owned lands, is one of the most

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

med locations in Sri Lanka. In 1881,

Ernst Haeckel Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (; ; 16 February 1834 – 9 August 1919) was a German zoologist, natural history, naturalist, eugenics, eugenicist, Philosophy, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biology, marine biologist and artist ...

portrayed Mirissa "red cliffs" in the sunset in his book, ''A visit to Ceylon'' and described "they seem to burn like coal...". The hill has been recommended as a place to observe the sunrise for the tourists. The hill is located on the Mirissa beach which is contiguous to

Weligama Weligama (, ) is a town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in Matara District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The name ''Weligama'', literally means "sandy village" which refers to the area's sandy sweep bay. It ...

across the Weligama bay. Mirissa beach has been described as one of the "secret beaches" in the world.

2021 controversy

In 2021, a controversy arose after constructing a fence across the hill over the private land the hill is situated. Since the fence has been erected without prior approval from the Urban Development Authority and the Coast Conservation Department, the proprietor of the land was ordered to demolish the fence. After a social media outrage, then prime minister

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...

was made aware of the situation. The land area of the hill is about 400 perches of which 320 perches are owned by a Sri Lankan and the balance is owned by a foreigner. It is the Sri Lankan landowner who constructed the fence. Later, the hill was reopened for both local and foreign tourists.

References

{{Reflist Beaches of Sri Lanka Landforms of Matara District Headlands of Sri Lanka

2021 controversy

See also

References