The most beautiful, wide and sandy beaches can be found in Bentota (South West) a thriving tourist resort with many hotels.

As with most major beach resorts along the southwest coast, many places in Bentota offer major water sports including swimming, water skiing on the rivers or estuaries, snorkelling, scuba diving, wind surfing, parasailing and fishing. And for those wanting to do more when back on land other than lounge about in a deck chair, games such as table tennis, squash and even billiards are often available.

The sandy beaches, restaurants and bars of Beruwala are separated from the adjacent resorts of Bentota by the wide Bentota River. Most of Bentota's resorts are newer than those in neighbouring Beruwala and many of them have been upgraded recently, with spas added to meet the demand for relaxing ayurvedic massage and other health and beauty treatments. Some of the best located resorts are on the peninsula bathed on one side by the Indian Ocean, and on the other by the river, with coconut palms on both sides.

For a change from the sun and sea, visitors can take a short trip from Bentota into the countryside to discover the gorgeous landscaped gardens and fascinating house of the late Bevis Bawa. His home attracted famous artists and personalities over the years, and works of luminaries such as the Australian artist Donald Friend who joined pieces of sculpture by Bawa himself in this spacious, beautifully furnished hilltop house.

For anyone who's wondered just how those fragrant quills of cinnamon which enliven food around the world are produced, the answer lies just a short distance from Bentota. By the bridge at Balapitya, a boat takes visitors past lush riverine villages, brilliant kingfishers, monitor lizards resembling miniature swimming dragons and fishermen in dugout canoes before reaching one of the many islands in the Madu Ganga, where cinnamon plantations are cultivated. The cinnamon peelers demonstrate how they slash and peel off the fragrant bark before drying the quills.

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