Meetiyagoda Moonstones can occur in several colors, but there’s only one place in the whole world that produces the exquisite blue moonstone—Meetiyagoda in southwest Sri Lanka. In fact, Sri Lanka was so associated with this mysterious gem that moonstones used to go by the name Ceylon opal. Local legend has it that the land around Meetiyagoda has been blessed by the moon, and it’s obvious why. Underneath this small village is the world’s largest vein of a moonstone-bearing igneous rock called pegmatite. You’d think that an area so rich in this stunning gemstone would be heavily mined and scarred by machiners but digging by hand down through the topsoil, the miners use coconut wood scaffolding and fern leaves to prop up and line the sides of the shafts as they go. Once they hit the pegmatite layer, the miners begin to tunnel, again using coconut beams to keep the tunnels from collapsing. Collected in buckets, the moonstone-bearing gravel is then winched up the mine shaft – again by hand.

Seenigama Muhudu Viharaya near Hikkaduwa is a temple situated in a small islet just 200 m offshore. The temple is Sinhalese Buddhist. Another temple at the shores of Seenigama, frequented by both Buddhists and Hindus, is dedicated to a local tutelary deity named Devol, who is also worshipped in Unawatuna. The god is a protector of fishermen and boats. According to localizations of Ramayana narratives, Seenigama was the place where Sugriva, helper of Lord Rama, began his campaign against the demon king Ravana of Lanka, in order to free Rama’s wife Sita from captivity.

Marine sanctuary and beach resort.