Koggala
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Koggala (; ) is a small coastal town, situated at the edge of a
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...
on the south coast of
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 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 ...
. Koggala is bounded on one side by a reef, and on the other by a large lake, Koggala Lake, into which the numerous tributaries of the Koggala Oya drain. 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 sea level.


History

Koggala has one of the longest beaches in Sri Lanka, and is located in close proximity to the popular tourist resort of Unawatuna, Koggala in comparison is relatively uncluttered as a tourist destination and mostly unexplored. Koggala was significantly affected 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 ...
, where the waters measured high. It is the birthplace of noted Sri Lankan author
Martin Wickramasinghe Lama Hewage Don Martin Wickramasinghe, (commonly known as Martin Wickramasinghe) () (29 May 1890 – 23 July 1976) was a Sri Lankan journalist and author. His books have been translated into several different languages. Martin Wickramasinghe ...
and a museum, Martin Wickramasinghe Folk Art Museum, dedicated to his arts and popular traditions in the town. Approximately east of Koggala is the Kataluva Purvarama Maha Viharaya temple, which was originally built in the 13th century and had some late 19th century additions. The temple is renowned for its Kandyan-style paintings in the main shrine, dating from the late 19th century. The paintings of musicians, dancers and European figures illustrates an interesting piece of social history. Some of the Jatake tales (episodes from the Buddha's series of 550 previous lives) are painted here, purportedly 200 years old. There are also some cameo-style paintings of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
and the Queen Mother, done in gratitude for Queen Victoria's role in ensuring the free practice of Buddhism outlined in the Kandyan capitulation of Lanka in 1815. Koggala is also the home to the Giniwella Kathaluwa and the ancient Temples. The Kathaluwa Buddhist temple is known for its murals and for the preserved first printing press, which was brought by the Dutch to Sri Lanka. The area is also famous for its distinct stilt fishermen, who erect a single pole in the chest-deep water on the beach, just a few meters off-shore, where they perch on a cross bar and using bamboo fishing rods cast their lines out beyond the surf break to catch small fish. During the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Koggala was the largest flying-boat base in the Eastern world and the lake was considered a strategic landing point for seaplanes.


Transport

Koggala is located on the Coastal or Southern Rail Line (connecting
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 ...
through to Matara), and the A2 highway, connecting
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 ...
to Wellawaya.


Facilities

* Koggala railway station * Koggala Airport


Attractions

* Martin Wickramasinghe Folk Museum * Koggala Lake * Koggala Beach * Turtle Hatcheries * Kataluva Purvarama Maha Viharaya * Stilt Fisherman


Post and telephone

*
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, ...
''00 94'' *
Area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...
''228'' *
Postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...
''80630''


See also

* List of towns in Galle Province, Sri Lanka * List of beaches in Sri Lanka


References

{{Authority control Populated places in Galle District Populated places in Southern Province, Sri Lanka Seaside resorts in Sri Lanka