Do you like to see ocean giants just a few meters away from your boat? Then there isn’t any better place than Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a prime spot in the world for whale watching. Do you wonder why? There’s an annual migration route of whales via the coast of Sri Lanka. Each year they migrate between the Bay of the Bengal and the Arabian Sea passing Sri Lankan waters. This is one of the greatest cetacean migratory routes in the world. Besides, the water around Sri Lanka is rich in tons of krill that whales can feast on, making it their favorite feeding ground.
You can see several species of whales around Sri Lankan waters. You’ll be rewarded with sightings of Blue, Sperm, Humpback, and Bryde’s whales. Particularly, the southern coast of Sri Lanka is one of the best places in the world for watching Blue whales. They follow their migratory route via the southern coast each year, allowing us to witness these magnificent creatures. Among Sri Lankan beaches, the southern coast tops whale watching destinations, while eastern and northwestern beaches are also famous for watching them.
Do you know about the whale species you can see around Sri Lanka? There are four species of whales that are frequently found around Sri Lankan waters
1. Blue Whales
The blue whale is 30 m long, the topmost ocean giant weighing over 200 tonnes. It is an absolutely impressive, magnificent, and graceful creature. Heavier than any other being on the earth, it likes to feed on abundant krill around the southern coast of Sri Lanka. Witnessing these blue majesties even for a few seconds will be an awesome experience.
2. Sperm whales
Sperm whales are another amazing, captivating, and wonderful giant of the ocean. The mighty sperm whale has an enormous square-shaped head. They are easily recognizable by their jaw, containing up to 52 cone-shaped teeth. The sperm whale is the earth’s loudest creature and uses a series of clicks called codas to communicate with each other in the ocean’s dark depths.
3. Humpback whales
Humpback whales are massive, growing up to 17 m in length. Their huge, dark bodies are flanked by enormous pectoral flippers. They undertake huge annual migrations, moving between warmer tropical waters and colder waters in polar regions. Humpback whales are the most acrobatic of the whales jumping or breaching out of the water about 45-50 feet. They will splash back down into the ocean blue waters making wonderful scenery.
4. Bryde’s whales
Bryde’s whales are baleen whales that live in tropical waters, weighing over 40 tonnes. It has twin blowholes and three ridges in the front of the head. They like to feed on krill in tropical warm waters.
Don’t forget to enjoy an exhilarating whale-watching tour, while you are touring in Sri Lanka. You’ll get the best opportunity to get up close with magnificent whales. Here we are going to show you the best places and times for whale watching in Sri Lanka.
Best places for whale watching in Sri Lanka
1. Mirissa in Southern coast
Picturesque Mirissa beach is highly famous for whale watching in Sri Lanka. Worldwide visitors flock to Mirissa, which considers a top destination in the world for whale watching. Without a doubt, it is the prime spot in Sri Lanka due to its geographical position. Mirissa beach locates on the route of annual whale migration, making it a key point for whale watching.
Whale watching in Mirissa is a thrilling experience since you can watch several whale species and lots of dolphins. The conditions here are ideal with mostly calm seas and good weather conditions. You will be able to see them, just a 1-hour boat journey from the shore. You are likely to catch sightings of blue, sperm, and humpback whales as well as striped and bottleneck dolphins.
Particularly, Mirissa is highly famous for watching blue whales. The spouting with their large blowholes is a magnificent sight you’ll never forget. The best time for blue whale sightings lasts for a few weeks between February and mid-March. During this period, they feed on krill abundant in Sri Lankan waters and jumping out of the ocean to upstage their performance.
When the blue whales dive down, they swing their tails high into the air. Capturing a nice shot of this tail fin is one of the most thrilling experiences you can get in Mirissa. The sight of the tail fin of blue whales and breaching out of humpback whales are the biggest natural wonders on the earth to witness.
There are plenty of whale-watching tour operators in the Mirissa area. They offer whale watching excursions starting from Mirissa, Weligama, or Koggala beaches. Choose a reliable operator for your tour, which starts early in the morning. The best time for whale watching in Mirissa is December to April, out of the monsoon season.
2. Galle in Southern coast
The historical city of Galle is a wonderful destination for whale watching in Sri Lanka. Several tour companies organize whale watching journeys in Galle. Out of them, the most popular tour is operated by Sri Lankan Navy. “Princess of Lanka” was a passenger liner before and now it operates as a whale watching ship.
It runs between Galle and Dondra passing through Mirissa, 4 times a week. You can enjoy this tour safely, as the line is operated by highly trained navy personnel and equipped with all the safety requirements.
While the sea excursion, you’ll see lovely dolphins in large clusters and flying fish. When you are near Mirissa, you’ll spot whales. The whales are feeding on krill and then display their acrobatic skills.
3. Kalpitiya in Northwestern coast
Kalpitiya peninsula, just north of Chilaw is another best place for whale watching. It is a highly famous place for both whale & dolphin watching. Particularly, Kalpitiya is famous for Sperm whales since the waters around Kalpitiya are abundant with giant squids, the favorite food of Sperm whales.
Each year late March to mid-April, Sperm whales aggregate in the coastal area around Kalpitiya. These aggregations call as superpods and contain hundreds of whale individuals.
The hotels and guest houses in the Kalpitiya area can easily arrange whale watching tours for guests. The whale watching season runs from Late November to April, out of the monsoon season.
4. Trincomalee in Eastern coast
Trincomalee is one of the best places on the eastern coast for whale watching in Sri Lanka. When the monsoons hit the southern coast, you can go whale watching on the eastern coast. Here the whale watching season runs from April to October.
Trincomalee boasts a bunch of whale watching spots, but the most popular ones are the Nilaveli and Uppuveli beaches. You’ll see lots of dolphins including bottlenose and spinner dolphins during your excursion.
Best time for whale watching
Sri Lanka can consider as a year-round whale watching destination. From December to April, you can go to Mirissa and Galle on the southern coast or Kalpitiya on the northwestern coast. From May to October, you can go to Trincomalee on the eastern coast for whale watching.
Visitors are flocking to Sri Lanka from December to January during the peak of the tourism season. Therefore, February, March, and April are perfect months for whale watching without much crowd in tour boats.
Best tips for you
- Whale watching trip starts early in the morning around 6-7 a.m. and lasts around three to five hours. Be sure to go to bed early in the night, since you need to wake up early in the morning. Ready to spend a few hours in the ocean for the whale watching tour.
- Although the whale watching excursion is exhilarating, riding through the strong waves in the Indian Ocean will give you a bit of challenge. This is a bumpy tour, so be prepared.
- Remember to take anti-motion pills to avoid seasickness. Some people quickly get seasickness and start to throw up. Therefore, it is better to use motion sickness tablets to avoid it.
- Take some polyethylene bags with you even though you think you don’t need them, someone close may need them.
- Whale watching boats don’t go too much closer to whales, since it may disturb their performance. It is useful to bring a powerful zoom lens with you to take pictures.
If you are longing to see majestic whales and ever-smiling dolphins, there isn’t any perfect place than Sri Lanka. Definitely, you can enjoy the breathtaking sight of the biggest creature on planet earth, the graceful blue whales. If you are lucky, you might see the incredible breaching out of humpback whales too. Of course, the sight of these magnificent creatures will be a truly magical and unbelievable experience. Happy whale watching for you guys!
Text by Magnificent Sri Lanka. Images from Wikimedia Commons, Pixabay, Mongabay, Sri Lanka Navy and Picuki. All copyrights are reserved by the original authors.
