Roaming in Arugambay and Panama beaches

Year and Month	30-September-2017
Number of Days	Two
Crew	04
Accommodation	N/A
Transport	Motor Bicycles
Activities	Hiking, Nature Exploring, Photography, Sightseeing, Ocean
Weather	Good
Route	Colombo -> Ratnapura -> Beragala -> Wellawaya -> Buttala -> Monaragala -> Siyambalanduwa -> Lahugala -> Pottuvil -> Arugam bay -> Panama ->
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Carry enough water Do not disturb to foreigners Maintain your behavior Be careful on bathing Beware of sea snakes Try to be there in the morning or evening Do not litter Leave only footprints
Related Resources	Other activities
Author	Ranshan Fernando
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread Roaming in Arugambay and Panama beaches

We went a two day journey to the Eastern side and have visited few places with in the limited time. As we have seen Okanda and Kudumbigala later we was roaming around Arugambay. This is a very beautiful beach and it is also famous for Surfing.

Arugam Bay (Tamil: அறுகம் குடா), known locally as “Arugam Kudah”, is a bay situated on the Indian Ocean in the dry zone of Sri Lanka’s southeast coast, and a historic settlement of the ancient Batticaloa Territory (Mattakallappu Desam). The bay is located 117 kilometres (73 mi) south of Batticaloa, 320 kilometres (200 mi) due east of Colombo, and approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the market town of Pottuvil. The main settlement in the area, known locally as Ullae, is predominantly Muslim,[1] however there is a significant Sri Lankan Tamil and Sinhala population to the south of the village, as well as a number of international migrants, largely from Europe and Australia. While traditionally fishing has dominated the local economy, tourism has grown rapidly in the area in recent years. Arugam Kudah’s literal Tamil translation is “Bay of Cynodon dactylon”. Tourism in Arugam Bay is dominated by surf tourism, thanks to several quality breaks in the area, however tourists are also attracted by the local beaches, lagoons, historic temples and the nearby Kumana National Park.

The nearby (4 kilometres (2.5 mi)) Muslim village of Pottuvil is the center of commerce and transportation while tourist accommodations lie along the beach to the south of Pottuvil Arugam Bay (4 kilometres (2.5 mi)) is also the gateway and the only road access to the Yala East National Park. In 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) distance there is Pasarichenai Beach. This area is known as Kumana (44 kilometres (27 mi)), to be reached via the Tamil/Sinhalese settlement of Panama (Sri Lanka) (17 kilometres (11 mi)) and the Tamil shires at Okanda (32 kilometres (20 mi)). The local area is home to a number of elephants, often travelling between Lahugala and Kumana national parks.

Arugam Bay is the most popular surf spot and is also the only international surf competition venue in Sri Lanka. It is also rated as one of the top ten surf destinations in the world. It has also hosted most of the international surfing competitions in Sri Lanka since 2004. It also hosted the So Sri Lanka Pro 2019. (Wikipedia)

Heading to Arugambay

Beauty on the way

Two toners

Green paddies

Here we came but still dawn

Sun rising

Sun rise seen

How it rising

Over the ocean

Beautiful beach

Another view

Milky Sea

Waves

Light o the sky

More to view

See the sea

Sand	Small huts

Indian Ocean

Surrounding

Beauty of under the water

For tourism

Surfing started

Surfing

He has no fear

Walking over the milky

Environment

The sufers

Its a enjoyable game

More in the sea

Ready for it

Got into the ocean

We saw this for few hours

Line of the sea

Tourists

Boats and surfers

Cabanas

Panama (Tamil: பாணமை, Sinhala: පාණම) is a coastal village in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, located 126 kilometres (78 mi) south of Batticaloa and 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Arugam Bay. It is the last populated settlement in the southernmost part of the province, within the Ampara District. Kumana Bird Sanctuary and Heritage park starts southwards from Panama.

Panama was the capital of the Colonial Panamapattuwa of Mattakkalappu Desam. This ancient village can be seen in the historical maps of Portuguese and Dutch as Panao, Panova, and Paneme. Panama’s inhabitants are mixed people of Sinhalese and Tamils. Panama is known for its Pattini Cult.

The village’s name has been a cause for mix-up by Sri Lanka Post resulting in local mail being wrongly redirected to the Central American nation of Panama and vice versa for international mail.