වෙරළ දිගේ 2 – Walk along the beach from Godawaya to Kalametiya

Year and Month	January 2016
Number of Days	One
Crew	Nishantha & Myself
Accommodation	N/A
Transport	Public transport (Bus), Canoe, Walking
Activities	Beach walk, Sightseeing, Photography & Sharing fishermen’s experiences
Weather	Excellent
Route	Colombo –> Ambalanthota –> Godawaya –> Kalametiya –> Tangalle –> Colombo
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Start the journey as early as possible. Apply a sun cream & wear a cap/ hat for sun protection Wear a top with long sleeves, if possible. Walking with sandals would be safe in some areas & walking barefoot help to keep your legs relax. Need about 2 ltr per person & enough food items. Do not ignore the fishermen during the walk & do not associate them with too much. Do not get into Walawe River as there are crocodiles roaming in that area. Sea area soon after passing Ussangoda fishery harbor is the safe place to have a sea bath. Be careful when crossing estuary of Kalametiya lagoon. It is risky to cross when the water flow is high.
Author	Chamara123
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After passing about one year from my 1st beach walk I thought of doing another because, I wanted to have a change and diversify my traveling portfolio. Even though, the total length around our Country along the beach is about 1600+ km it was bit difficult to select a definite stretch but, finally decided to walk 10km from Godawaya to Kalametiya along Southern coastal border.

Nishantha joined me at Pettah bus terminal in mid night & got in to Kataragama bus. After 5 hour journey we reached Ambalantota at about 6 a.m., from there we had our breakfast, bought drinkable water & eatables as we know that we will not come across any shop during this 10km walk.

We walked about 2km towards southern coastal border from Ambalantota town till we come across Walawe River. We waited there till a canoe comes to cross the river by keeping in mind not to get in to water as we were advised by villagers saying that there are crocodiles roaming in that area.

Need to cross the Walawe river

The area belongs to DWC

Transport mode

halted

Crossing Walawe river

Stepped to Godawaya beach

After stepped in the Godawaya beach we noticed a set of fishermen who were busy with a Ma dela (මා දැල). We walked towards them, helped for their work while chatting with them in a friendly manner & they were humble enough to offer plain tea for us. We didn’t have much time to share their life experiences hence, decided to say good bye & start our walk towards Kalametiya.

Apart from the fishery harbours in Godawaya, Ussangoda & Kalametiya, we didn’t meet any human in most of the areas along this unpolluted coastal line. Although, Ussangoda beach is a famous bathing spot we didn’t notice too much garbage in the area.

We walked together, had some rests here & there and didn’t forget to have a superb sea bath at beautiful Ussangoda beach.

At Godawaya beach

Hard life

Helped them

It is not an easy task

Towards Kalametiya

Shining

My travel companion

Dead body

ඉකිරි

Ussangoda brake water is seen

At Ussangoda

.	Red color soil at Ussangoda National Park

Brake water seen from National Park

Ussangoda National Park

at
Ussangoda National Park

View towards Godawaya

Safe bathing place

ඉකිරි

Unpolluted beach area

මඩුවා

We reached Kalametiya within 4-5 hours but, stucked there for a while to cross the estuary of Kalametiya lagoon as the water flow was little bit high. Finally, a fisherman showed us the path to cross the estuary along a sand reef. We entered to a tar road by crossing the estuary and refreshed at nearby temple. We had to walk again about 1 km to catch the Tangalle bus which was the last one on that day.