Notes from the coast

Between December and April the sea off Mirissa is one of the best places in the world to see a blue whale. They pass close: often eight to ten nautical miles from the harbour, on their way through some of the richest water in the Indian Ocean.

What you may see

Blue whales are the reason most people come, but they are not alone. Sperm whales are seen often, and Bryde's and fin whales now and then. Spinner, bottlenose and common dolphins tend to find the boat before you find them.

How we arrange it

We book a private boat rather than a seat on a crowded one, with a crew who keep a respectful distance. Boats leave early, while the sea is calm, and you are usually back in time for a late breakfast.

Where to stay

Halala Kanda, in the hills above Weligama, and Kurulu Bay on Koggala Lake are both a short drive from the harbour. Tell us your dates and we will set the morning up around them.

Galle Fort is a small town inside a very old wall. It has been lived in without a break since the 16th century, and it shows: Dutch gables beside mosques, a lighthouse above a cricket ground, families who have been here for generations next to people who arrived last year.

Walk it early

The fort is at its best before ten. Start on the ramparts by the lighthouse, follow the wall round to the clock tower, then come inland to the Groote Kerk, All Saints' Church and the Old Dutch Hospital. A good guide turns the walk from a list of buildings into the story of who built them and why.

Why it matters

UNESCO lists the fort for the way European architecture and South Asian tradition met here between the 16th and 19th centuries. You do not need the citation to feel it. You need a morning and comfortable shoes.

Stay inside the walls

The Fort Printers, an 18th century mansion, and Seven Pillars, a townhouse on Lighthouse Street, both put you a few steps from all of it.

Every cup of Ceylon tea begins the same way: a plucker takes the top two leaves and the bud from a bush, and nothing else. It cannot be done by machine without spoiling the tea, so it is still done by hand, one stem at a time. It is also where our own mark comes from.

Tea you can walk through

Several of the places we look after sit on working estates. Kahanda Kanda is strung along a ridge of tea above Koggala Lake. Sisindu T stands among tea, cinnamon and pepper, 800 feet above the sea.

The rarest cup

A short drive inland, the Handunugoda estate makes virgin white tea, cut with golden scissors and never touched by hand. A tasting there is an hour well spent, and an easy stop on the way back from Yatagala rock temple.

Ask us to add a morning on the estates to your stay.

Hiriketiya is a small horseshoe of sand at the eastern end of our coast, and most people have heard of it for one reason. The waves suit beginners and experts alike, and the bay is rarely without a line of boards.

If you would rather not

The same bay is one of the gentlest places on the coast to swim, and wild turtles come in close. Above the trees, the rooftop terrace at Ginger Palm Villa is made for yoga in the morning and stars at night.

A little further

Mulkirigala, a cave temple on a high rock that people here call Little Sigiriya, is a short drive inland. Whale boats leave from Mirissa in season, and we can have a car waiting.

Where to stay

Ginger Palm Villa is a few paces from the sand, with an oversized pool for the afternoon.