It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it. I have just walked the length of the main beach street of Unawatuna, the southern Sri Lankan town noted for its clean, four-kilometer-long, picturesque beach. Along with the famous places I’ve known for two decades here there are now even more new bars, hotels, shops, etc. There are also many new substantial buildings in the process of going up.

Every year we do a few homage trips to Unawatuna, once our favourite beach but now we feel it is a bit down market. There are however also differences from the earlier visit—less trashy shops and restaurants. The amount of beach dogs is however still annoying. Today, Russian signage is everywhere, including in Russian restaurants. It’s the season for the mass package Russian tourists, but I assume there are many around all year.

A shanty town started around the beach in the 1960s and was a backpackers' hangout in its early life. Between the sixties and the end of the century, the beach shanty resort progressively grew. Sri Lanka builds a package tour business. Highs and lows were born out of an internal war of over twenty years, but they still had regular visitors, especially from Europe. There are further setbacks, and the true tourism potential is not achieved. Unawatuna and the people of the island have always bounced back, and the frequency of visitors increased despite multiple domestic setbacks.

It's amazing beach was hit by a tsunami in 2004. The loss of local and tourist lives sadly had its impact. There was a loss of properties and some of the beaches disappeared. If you want to read the details on the tsunami hitting the town there is an interesting account, by Alexander Dixon, an active Britisher.

The rebuild starts again, and Unawatuna bounces back. The new highway to the south finally opens and links the airport to many more beaches, including Unawatuna. Further extension of the highway south opens up new beaches further south. Unawatuna has to fight hard to retain its popularity.
What has changed on this early 2025 visit is the increased number of bikes, tuks, and vans dodging the walking tourists in the narrow congested streets. I always walk from the Galle road to the end of the beach, just before the Welle Devalaya temple.

At the beach end, there are the big monster properties/full resorts. Some class them as progress, but at the end of the beach walk they look so out of place. Some call it progress as they are creating and supplying accommodation for a wide range of tourists. They are in part of ensuring, however, that Unawatuna has a big future. Multiple rows of beach beds in front are full of sun worshipers, many who will return year after year.

Unawatuna's turquoise sea and coral reefs help create all-year-round tourism.  Add to which there are a further six beaches in the area that give tourists a wider experiences