Batticaloa

Batticaloa is a coastal city, separated by a lagoon from the mainland, in the eastern province of Sri Lanka, 108 km south of Trincomalee and 314 km from Colombo. It is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. It is mainly populated by a combination of Tamils, Moors, Sinhalese, Euro-Asian and indigenous Vedars.

Batticaloa is referred to as “Batti”. The Sinhalese name of the town is "Mudda Kalapuwa" meaning Mud Lagoon. The district of Batticaloa has three lagoons - Batticaloa Lagoon, Valaichchenai Lagoon, and Vakari (Panichchankerni) Lagoon.

The Batticaloa lagoon is the largest and extends from Pankudaweli in North and Kalmunai in South. The lagoon has several islands like Puliayantheevu, Buffaloa Island and Bone Island.

The largest bridge is the Lady Manning bridge at Kallady, which serves as the main access path to the city from the southern parts of the district. There are singing fishes also in the region.

Batticaloa has sandy beaches located along the city shoreline and further through the neighbouring places. Kallady, Pasikudah and Kalkudah are some of the popular beaches here.

Pasikudah bay on the island’s eastern tip is protected from the ocean, making the shore line along it sandy and flat up to 150m from the shore.

Shri Mamangeshwarar Kovil in Amirthakally, 6 km from Batticaloa is one of the holy places for Hindus in Sri Lanka. It is believed that a bath in the sacred water of Mamangeshwarar tank helps the departed souls of their family in receiving better attainments in their cycle of transmigrations.

The sightseeing options in Batticaloa include the Batticaloa Lagoon, the lighthouse, the Dutch Fort as well as the beaches of the area. This resort town has a temperate climate and it receives rainfall throughout the year. The months of November and December are the rainiest here.