" Hambantota sri lanka "
Heading eastward from Tangalle, the scenery changes from the lush green
of the southwest to more open landscapes as you enter the dry zone of southeastern
Sri Lanka.
Hambantota, 240km (150 miles) from Colombo, is an independent travelers' haven that is showing some of the signs of escalating into a fully fledged holiday resort.
Like other south coast towns and villages, it would probably already have
made the transition if not for the troubles of the 1980s and 1990s. Hambantota
stands on a sandy headland, on the seaward side of which a huge fleet of
outrigger fishing 
canoes draws up, and the horizon is almost always dotted
with their small triangular sails.
With sweeping sandy beaches on either side, it is also a convenient base
for exploring the nearby Bundala National Park and, somewhat further away,
the Ruhuna National Park and the temples at Kataragama.
