Sri Lanka's best whale-watching bay — blue whales, stilt fishermen, and a perfect crescent beach
Mirissa is a small fishing village and beach on Sri Lanka's south coast that has become one of the world's top destinations for blue whale watching — the submarine canyon immediately offshore creates an upwelling of nutrients that attracts the largest animals ever to have lived on Earth, with blue whales reliably present from November to April. The bay itself is a perfect crescent of golden sand backed by coconut palms, with a small rocky islet (Parrot Rock) at its eastern end that provides a sunset vantage point. The fishing harbour at the western end of the bay is still active — stilt fishe…
Mirissa was until the late 20th century a fishing village of little distinction beyond its beach, known locally for its tuna catches and dried fish trade. The south coast whale-watching industry began to develop after the end of the civil war (2009) when the east coast was reopened; researchers realised that the submarine topography off Mirissa created one of the most reliable blue whale corridors in the Indian Ocean. The 2004 tsunami affected the south coast severely, but the low-lying fishing community rebuilt quickly. The stilt fishing tradition (katuppa) depicted in countless photographs…