Mirissa

Tucked into the far eastern end of Weligama Bay, the picture-perfect swathe of sand at the village of Mirissa was formerly the island’s most famously “undiscovered” beach. The days when you could expect to have the place almost to yourself are long gone, but although the village now attracts a steady stream of visitors, its beach remains one of the prettiest in the island, with a narrow strip of sand backed by dense palm trees which manage to camouflage all signs of human presence. Mirissa has slowly become an exclusive tourist hotspot and moves made recently by the local hoteliers to only welcome tourists to their hotels has been met in a hostile way and in turn haltered. Most of these small hotels and guest houses are concentrated in a much smaller area than Weligama which makes Mirissa’s a bit more livelier, hence the popularity. There’s reasonable swimming, though conditions vary connsiderably along different parts of the beach, so it’s recommended you get advice about where’s safe to swim before venturing into the water. You can also snorkel here, though you won’t see much apart from the occasional pretty fish.