Aluthgama has a bustling market every Monday, located across the train line, towards Dharga Town.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
3.2 MILES
You'll find the Brief Garden 10 kilometres inland from Bentota. A barely controlled riot of a garden out of The Jungle Book, the grounds are a lovely…
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1.81 MILES
About 3km inland from Bentota, on the south bank of the Bentota Ganga, this unexpected 12th-century temple has some lovely murals and a 2500-year-old…
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19.75 MILES
About 2km north of Hikkaduwa is the Seenigama Vihara, perched on its own island. It’s one of only two temples in the country where victims of theft can…
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18.81 MILES
This ramshackle, private museum 3.5km north of Hikkaduwa tells the story through photographs and newspaper features of that dreadful day in 2004 when the…
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13.32 MILES
This museum, with its dioramas and explanations in English, gives an interesting insight into Sri Lankan masks and the meanings behind them. It also sells…
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19.1 MILES
This small monument remembers the 35,000 people who lost their lives just in Sri Lanka during the 2004 tsunami and the hundreds of thousands of others…
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19.3 MILES
Right on the coast north of Hikkaduwa is this statue of a standing Buddha facing the waves with his hands in the abhaya mudra (Buddha pose conveying…
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Tsunami Education Centre and Museum
18.86 MILES
This locally run centre focuses on tsunami education for locals, but also has some dramatic and harrowing photos of the 2004 tsunami, including some of…
Nearby attractions
1.81 MILES
About 3km inland from Bentota, on the south bank of the Bentota Ganga, this unexpected 12th-century temple has some lovely murals and a 2500-year-old…
3.2 MILES
You'll find the Brief Garden 10 kilometres inland from Bentota. A barely controlled riot of a garden out of The Jungle Book, the grounds are a lovely…
3.52 MILES
The first recorded Muslim settlement on the island took place at Beruwela, 6km north of Aluthgama, in 1024. The Kechimalai Mosque, on a headland north of…
10.97 MILES
Between Ambalangoda and Iduruwa the muddy Madu Ganga dances around the coastline forming a complicated network of lagoons and off-shoots. It’s fantastic…
11.19 MILES
This impressive Buddhist complex features a sacred bodhi tree and a huge hollow dagoba (stupa) with an interesting painted interior depicting scenes from…
6. Galigoda Shailathalaramaya Vihara
12.42 MILES
This peaceful Buddhist temple, 5km inland from Ambalangoda, sits on a hill surrounded by cinnamon plantations. The temple has a 35m-long sleeping Buddha…
7. Ariyapala Traditional Masks
13.29 MILES
Ariyapala Traditional Masks is a small ground-floor museum starring a life-sized statue of the last king and queen of Kandy. It also has a shop selling…
13.32 MILES
This museum, with its dioramas and explanations in English, gives an interesting insight into Sri Lankan masks and the meanings behind them. It also sells…