Dreaming about soft white sand and turquoise blue ocean in tropical warm weather? And do you prefer some peaceful, quiet lovely beaches? Then look no further than charming east coast beaches in Sri Lanka. Undoubtedly, the eastern coast is the most scenic and picture-perfect shoreline on the island with pure white sandy beaches bordering the deep blue ocean. Most importantly, you’ll find these beaches are relatively undiscovered and ideal for a relaxing holiday.
Although the eastern coast is often overlooked by travelers with limited time, exploring these beautiful beaches is highly recommended. The east coast beaches are particularly safe with calm waters when compared to those on the southern coast. The waves are smooth and clean, providing better conditions for snorkeling and scuba diving. As well, east coast beaches are pretty shallow, where you can enjoy a safe sea bath.
The east coast beaches in Sri Lanka are still quiet and peaceful without crowds of visitors, so you can enjoy the charming beauty of the beach. These beaches are popular family-friendly destinations in the country, where you can enjoy a wonderful beach holiday with your kids. Certainly, its popularity is going to increase and now it is the time to visit these lovely east coast beaches in Sri Lanka.
Here we have covered all the beautiful east coast beaches on the island. Hope you’ll visit these beaches and enjoy them a lot during your Sri Lanka travel.
1. Arugam Bay Beach
Without a doubt, Arugam Bay is the crown of the eastern coast, where it is called the surfing capital of Sri Lanka. Although most of the east coast beaches have calm, flat waters which aren’t good for surfing, Arugam Bay is completely different. It has the best waves in Sri Lanka, as well as world-famous as a supreme surfing destination. This surf lovers’ paradise attracts lots of visitors during the surfing season which runs from May to September, parallel to the low season on the southern coast. Thus, worldwide surfers flock to Arugam Bay beach to ride the waves.
Arugam Bay is the only venue in Sri Lanka to hold an annual international surfing competition. This event is held in each year September and winners will get grand rewards. It is a quite popular event among both experienced and novice surfers. If you are a surf lover, remember to participate in the Arugam surf event and enjoy the best waves in Sri Lanka.
Some beaches in Arugam Bay are quite famous among surfers. One such famous place is called Whisky Point. Whisky Point is a breathtaking beach located a short distance away from the busy Arugam Bay. It offers surfing spots suitable for both beginners, as well as professionals.
Although surfing is the main reason drawing people to Arugam Bay, there are many other things to do there. Don’t forget to visit Elephant Rock located closer to Arugam Bay. This is a great viewpoint where you can take in the beauty of the surroundings. Certainly, you can enjoy a relaxing holiday full of rest and fun on the lovely Arugam Bay beach.
2. Pottuvil Beach
Located just closer to Sri Lanka’s surfing Mecca of Arugam Bay, Pottuvil is a charmingly beautiful beach. Although it is a laid-back, quiet place than the nearby famous Arugam Bay, this beach has unsurpassed beauty on the eastern coast. This calm and peaceful beach with an unhurried vibe is a great place to admire the beautiful views of the area.
Pottuvil Beach is an ideal place to relax on the long stretch of golden sand. There are rocky formations towards the point itself, and the long sandy beach is wonderful for walking and watching sunsets. More often you may end up having the entire beach strip for yourself.
Behind the beach is the beautiful Pottuvil Lagoon, where you can take a boat ride safari. This area of wetlands and mangroves is home to some amazing wildlife including elephants, crocodiles, water buffalo, and a variety of birds. You can also visit the nearby Muhudu Maha Vihara Buddhist temple, which dates back over 2,000 years.
3. Kallady Beach
If you are visiting the Batticaloa area, Kallady is a famous beach not to miss on the eastern coast. You can walk up to Batticaloa Lagoon along the vast unspoiled sandy beach. Kallady is a lovely place to enjoy a long walk along the wooden walkway on the beach. There you can admire the scenery of the surroundings. The best time is during the sunrise or sunset where you can capture some gorgeous shots.
The Kallady Bridge is a unique sight in this area. This is the oldest and longest iron bridge in Sri Lanka. The bridge is part of the A4 Colombo-Batticaloa highway, where it crosses the Batticaloa Lagoon. Currently, this old bridge is used by only pedestrians and cyclists. There is a newly built bridge for all the vehicles to enter Batticaloa town.
Kallady is a main fishing town, hence fishnet-hauling fishermen are a common sight there. These large fishing nets call as Maa Dal and you can help to pull the net and support their effort in Kallady Beach.
4. Kalkudah Beach
If you are looking for a quiet beach with only a few visitors, then Kalkudah Beach is for you. It’s a naturally beautiful beach, still almost deserted on the eastern coast. The beach is wide and long with never-ending soft sands. It is a clean, unspoiled beach where you can take a pleasurable walk. With its serene tranquility and gorgeous beauty, you won’t be disappointed in Kalkudah Beach.
Since the nearby Passikudah Beach is quite famous among beach lovers, you’ll find only a few people in Kalkudah Beach. Therefore, it is an ideal place to have a relaxing time without crowds of visitors. Most probably, you may end up having the entire beach for yourself. Sometimes, you may even witness the wonderful sight of cows relaxing on the beach too.
5. Passikudah Beach
Passikudah Beach is a tourist paradise located just next to Kalkudah Beach. In total contrast to quiet Kalkudah beach, Passikudah is a highly famous busy place, Both local and foreign visitors love this glorious stretch of sand on the eastern coast. Definitely, Passikudah is one of the topmost beautiful east coast beaches in Sri Lanka.
Passikudah is a picture-perfect horseshoe-shaped bay with sparkling shallow waters. It is famous for having one of the world’s longest shallow coastlines. You can walk more than two hundred meters out into the sea safely. Since the water current is relatively weak, it’s a perfectly safe place for swimming and a sea bath. Furthermore, it is famous for adrenaline-filled adventures, including speed boat riding.
Passikudah is a busy tourist hot spot with numerous luxury hotels. You’ll find many newly built beautiful beach hotels in Passikudah Beach. They are elegantly and tastefully designed to give the maximum facilities to the visitors. If you are visiting Passikudah, select one of these beach hotels to enjoy your holiday.
6. Trincomalee
Boasting the world’s finest natural harbor, Trincomalee is the most famous port town on the northeastern coast. Although it isn’t located along the main tourist route, it is quite popular as a whale-watching destination. Trincomalee is one of the best places in Sri Lanka to see blue whales, second only to Mirissa Beach on the southern coast.
The deep blue ocean around Trincomalee is a famous diving spot in Sri Lanka. It has amazing underwater life with some famous shipwrecks around the harbor. Swami Rock of Trincomalee definitely is a must-visit place, if you are into diving.
When you are at Trincomalee, remember to visit the historical Koneshwaram Hindu Temple. This ancient temple sits on a dramatic location on a cliff of the seaside. Here you’ll see completely sociable herds of deer living around this temple and they are moving about freely.
7. Uppuveli Beach
Just north of Trincomalee on the east coast, Uppuveli is a great option if you want to visit a beautiful beach well off the beaten track. Here the soft white sand lining the coast remains remarkably unspoiled. The area is also developing a reputation as a center for whale-watching and diving.
This clean, lovely beach is ideal for a day out eastern coast. Uppuveli is lined with lots of restaurants and bars. This makes it the perfect place to head for a day out and enjoy a meal and drink by the ocean.
8. Nilaveli Beach
Nilaveli is one of the top beautiful beaches on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. When you visit Nilaveli Beach, you’ll feel it is an extremely worthy trip to visit this picturesque beach. This gorgeous beach bordered by pure white soft sand is a superb beach destination on the island. Sand in Nilaveli is superfine and pure white, which makes it a picture-perfect place among lush green palm vegetation.
Nilaveli Beach is popular as a family-friendly beach in Sri Lanka. Since there aren’t any strong undercurrents, it is an ideal place for swimming in crystal clear water. The soft sand in Nilaveli is ideal for kids’ beach play. Surely, they will love roaming on this beautiful shore in search of colorful seashells.
There are some grand beach hotels with premium facilities in Nilaveli. You can have a relaxing time lounging around and catch the stunning view of sunsets. You’ll see the magical beauty of Nilaveli Beach when the day gradually goes into the night. It is sure that you won’t feel like leaving this lovely beach paradise forever.
9. Marble Beach
Marble Beach is a gorgeous hidden beach on the eastern coast, 16 km from Trincomalee. This beach is called Marble Beach since the surface is shining like marble when the sea is calm on a clear and bright day. With soft powdery white sands and clear turquoise blue waters, this beach can clearly be put among the most beautiful beaches in Sri Lanka.
You can walk out over a hundred meters into the sea, without the water reaching the chest. It remains distinctively calm and clear as glass through the year. Since the sea in this area is shallow, it is ideal for swimming for both adults and kids. It is one of the best places in Sri Lanka for snorkeling.
10. Pigeon Island
Pigeon Island is located 1 km off the coast of the famous Nilaveli beach. It is one of the three marine national parks in Sri Lanka. This national park got its name after wild blue rock pigeons that inhabit the nearby island. This island is an important breeding ground for these pigeons.
To reach Pigeon Island National Park, visitors should rent a boat from Nilaveli Beach. There are boat operators who arrange trips to the islands. As well, you can rent goggles, snorkeling gear, or other swimming equipment there. This area is famous for watching turtles, blacktip reef sharks, and schools of colorful reef fish.
Pigeon Island is one of the most beautiful places to see underwater life in the country. This area has high biological diversity and you can see plenty of varieties of corals, anemones, and marine life within a short reach from the beach. The lovely underwater sceneries you’ll find here are hard to discover anywhere else in the world.
To sum up, here we have bought you the details of the most beautiful east coast beaches in Sri Lanka. The best time to visit the eastern coast is from May to September with warm, sunny weather and the least rainfall. Without a doubt, you can enjoy yourself and have a lot of fun in the sun on the picturesque East Coast beaches. Welcome everybody, Have a nice beach vacation!
Text by Magnificent Sri Lanka. Images from Wikimedia Commons, Pixabay, Unsplash, and Twitter. All copyrights reserved by original authors.
