Just behind the resorts, this attraction is dedicated to the coconut, surely the world's most remarkable plant, and inexorably linked with Sri Lanka (its cultivation is mentioned in the Mahavamsa). You can wander under coconut groves and learn about the coconut palm's many uses – timber for housing and shelter, coir rugs and rope, cooking oil and toddy. The coconut ice cream is a treat. And it's not just coconuts: other useful plants such as the papaya get their due, too.
Coconut Cultural Park
The East
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.49 MILES
Kalkudah Beach is the kind of fantasy that makes you want to chuck away your return air ticket and lounge forever under the palms. Good roads run inland…
17.63 MILES
This once-mighty fort is now home to administrative offices, and though large sections of the structure are crumbling, it's still an evocative sight. It…
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20.7 MILES
This fine new museum plunges deep into the history of Muslims and Arab traders locally. Spread over three floors, it tells a compelling story about…
Kallady & Navalady Peninsula Beach
16.66 MILES
This long beach follows the peninsula all the way north to the end. The swimming is usually good. With a bike, you can explore the beach, which has access…
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17.43 MILES
This lovely modern park along Old Batti's waterfront is popular with strolling couples and includes features such as the Batticaloa Gate, which was a 19th…
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14.55 MILES
At the end of a sandbar, surrounded by lagoons and mangroves, this 28m-tall lighthouse dates from 1913. The sheltered coastline around here is a popular…
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0.36 MILES
With the resorts stretching into the distance, Passekudah's extremely shallow water heats up to bathtub temperatures on sunny days (you'll have to wade…
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Thiruchendur Murugan Alayam Temple
17.61 MILES
Built in 1984 as a stopping point on the Pada Yatra pilgrimage to Kataragama, the temple's Murugan image is said to have opened its own eyes before the…
Nearby The East attractions
0.36 MILES
With the resorts stretching into the distance, Passekudah's extremely shallow water heats up to bathtub temperatures on sunny days (you'll have to wade…
2.49 MILES
Kalkudah Beach is the kind of fantasy that makes you want to chuck away your return air ticket and lounge forever under the palms. Good roads run inland…
14.55 MILES
At the end of a sandbar, surrounded by lagoons and mangroves, this 28m-tall lighthouse dates from 1913. The sheltered coastline around here is a popular…
4. Kallady & Navalady Peninsula Beach
16.66 MILES
This long beach follows the peninsula all the way north to the end. The swimming is usually good. With a bike, you can explore the beach, which has access…
16.9 MILES
Of the dozens of churches, the most eye-catching is the huge cerulean blue, eight-sided, unfinished Our Lady of Sorrows.
17.14 MILES
Consider a haircut and head massage (Rs 400) at this utterly bizarre salon, a monument to kitsch. Every centimetre is covered in decorative painting, fake…
17.25 MILES
Beside Kallady Bridge is the fairly modern and relatively unattractive St Sebastian’s Church, built somewhat in the shape of a whale.
17.31 MILES
The vaguely Mexican-looking, earth-toned St Anthony’s is one of Puliyanthivu's most striking churches.