Dive Sites in Sri Lanka

Unawatuna Dive Sites on the South Coast of Sri Lanka

At Unawatuna, we have around 16 different Dive Sites with different depths from 6 to 30 meters offering a vibrant variety of dives like Reef Dives, Rock Dives, Wreck Dives and Night Dives.

Most of the reef dive sites have a mix of hard and soft corals going to the depth of 18 meters. In 1997 the “El Nino” surface current with high water temperatures reached the west and south coast of Sri Lanka and bleached a lot of the coral reefs. Since this time coral started rejuvenating at a very slow rate.

At the deeper dive sites, the topography consists of mostly rocky areas with deep valleys to explore. Close to the Galle harbour, there are magnificent wrecks on sandy grounds giving home a number of species of corals and fish life. The famous “Rangoon” Wreck lies at a depth of 30 meters, the SS Orestes, at a depth of 22 meters, and the Galle Ship Wreck at a depth of 18 meters.

At the reefs, you will find a lot of macro life, many different nudibranchs, different coral reef fish of the Indian Ocean, stingrays on the sandy bottom, and might also be visited by some Napoleon Wrasses.

Most of the soft corals and fish life are at the two deeper wrecks, accompanied by schools of Sweet Lips and Moray Eels. Barracudas, Trevallies, Stingrays are also mostly spotted there. During the months of January up until March, Whale Sharks may pay a visit if you get lucky.

Diving in Unawatuna is a beautiful experience and is a great place to start diving with the variety of experience levels it has to offer.