Mirissa (; ) is a small town 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 the

Matara District Matara ( ''Mātara distrikkaya''; ''Māttaṛai māvaṭṭam'') is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a Di ...

of the Southern Province. 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. Mirissa's beach and nightlife make it a popular tourist destination. It is also a fishing port and one of the island's main whale and dolphin watching locations.

History

Mirissa is the largest fishing port on the south coast and is known for its tuna, mullet, snapper, and butterfish. In 1980 the first tourist accommodation was built, and in the mid-1990s tourism to the town started to increase dramatically. Mirissa was 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 ...

, with numerous homes, guesthouses, shops, schools, and temples destroyed or damaged and fourteen reported deaths.

Transport

Mirissa is located on the A2 Highway, connecting

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 ...

; the town is approximately west of Mirissa railway station – 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

through to Matara) – and it is approximately from the Kokmaduwa Interchange of the Southern Expressway.

Facilities

* Mirissa Boat Harbour * Mirissa railway station

Attractions

* Mirissa beach and Parrot Rock * Coconut Tree Hill *

Whale Watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. ...

* Sri Sunandarama Temple * Secret Beach

References

{{Commons category, Mirissa Populated places in Matara District Populated places in Southern Province, Sri Lanka Seaside resorts in Sri Lanka

History

Transport

Facilities

Attractions

See also

References