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Diving

With the glittering sand and sun, fantastic weather, warm water, colourful marine wildlife, hundreds of shipwrecks and great visibility, Sri Lanka is a diver's dream. Feel, discover and swim with the beautiful marine life, learn to snorkel or dive or even to swim with the professionals who will accompany you to the bottom. The incredible hospitality and the care provided to you by the professional dive centres along the coastal belt of the island will assure your safety and pleasure.

It is always an adventure and an exciting event to go underwater. It will never make you disappointed but will give you more than expected, no matter what your level of experience is. There is much more to see. You can snorkel in shallow, warm water through coral reefs and thousands of fish and sometimes with friendly turtles. When you dive, there is no end to your adventure; deep blue waters, reefs with colours and varieties of marine life, shipwrecks with stories, caves, and many more....

Beaches of the west and south coasts are always busy with tourists. These areas will fulfil your dreams with warm welcome. There are a lot of diving centres with quality equipment and professional trainers. They will take you from Hikkaduwa to the famous great Basses Reef where you can explore your desires in the crystal clear water. Also you can visit the Shipwreck Diving Centre of the Maritime Archaeology Unit at the Galle Fort if you like to dive into the history.

In the southwest monsoon you can shift to the east cost for diving. From Trincomalee to Batticaloa there are magnificent diving sites with coral reefs, such as Pigeon Island, Konashwaram, Kayankeni and Batticaloa, where the coastline is also enriched with wreck sites. You can find the HMS Hermes, the world's first aircraft carrier which sank during the World War II, and also it is one of the top 10 wrecks for diving in the world.

Along the west coast there are a number of diving sites and centres in Kalpitiya, Negombo and even in Colombo if you do not have much time to travel. At Kalpitiya you will find the pristine Bar Reef and the Whale and Dolphin watching tours.

Locations

South Coast - Bentota, Sinigama, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Unawatuna, Polhena, Dickwella, and Kirinda.

West Coast - Colombo, Negombo and Kalpitiya.

East Coast - Nilaweli, Uppuweli, Trincomalee, Kayankeni, Kalkuda, Pasikuda and Batticaloa.

Opportunities and Facilities - Most of the diving centres go along with beach side hotels. So you can arrange diving while you are staying. Also many centres offer a variety of packages, full equipment and the dive training and the international certifications such as PADI series.

"Shipwrecks, they take us into entirely new dimensions, fascinate us with its beauty, terrify us with its ill fate and amaze us with its presence. There is a story behind every single wreck, which has been interrupted unexpectedly. There is a story behind every unfinished journey, the stories help us make the history."

Snorkeling

Snorkel is an equipment or rather a tube which is built in the shape of a diving mask. Snorkeling is enjoyed by both people who are afraid or scared to try out scuba diving and also by the scuba divers at the surface. Snorkeling is one of the easiest ways to enjoy the underwater life. Snorkeling is available at the locations where scuba diving is practised. Snorkeling & Scuba Diving in Sri Lanka could be enjoyed at Hikkaduwa, Weligama, Kirinda, and Pigeon Island areas.

Scuba Diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) to breathe underwater. This should be tried by good swimmers who are well experienced or else should be guided by a supervisor. or trainers. This is an adventure where you can truly experience the world that we are so strange to. Enjoy the beautiful waters that surround Sri Lanka and experience the wonderful fish, coral reefs, and breathtaking views whilst scuba diving.


Snuba Diving

Snuba is a form of surface-supplied diving in which an underwater breathing system developed is used. The swimmer uses swimfins, a diving mask, weights, and diving regulator as in scuba diving. The air comes through a long hose from tanks on pontoon rafts on the surface. Snuba often serves as a form of introductory diving, in the presence of a professional, insured guide, and following a half-hour lesson. Snuba diving can be experienced at Hikkaduwa

For the ones who are scared or unable to perform scuba diving, snorkelling which is similar to scuba diving but which only provides swimming through the surface could be enjoyed.

Shipwrecking

"Shipwrecks, they take us into entirely new dimensions, fascinate us with its beauty, terrify us with its ill fate and amaze us with its presence. There is a story behind every single wreck, which has been interrupted unexpectedly. There is a story behind every unfinished journey, the stories help us make the history."


A journey ends with terrifying suddenness, sending a majestic seagoing vessel to the ocean floor, ending the lives of sailors and passengers. The wreck is now a home to sea creatures, corals and sponges. Years later, detectives in the form of maritime archaeologists locate the wreck and start to piece the tiny bits of information together, like a forensic scientist who attempts to work out the cause of death, in order to unearth the story of that forgotten hulk sitting alone in its watery grave. Shipwrecks invariably attract a great deal of international attention and fame because of these stories which are, at times, heroic and adventurous, and always tragic. For a diver, knowing the story of the wreck creates a whole new experience involving time a n d space rather than just viewing a pile of steel or wood beneath the waves. Shipwreck diving tours in and around the Galle harbour will be a unique experience to all the divers who wish to wet their heads. There are more than 26 archaeological sites in the Galle harbour, 12 of which have clearly been identified as shipwrecks. They belong to the period from the 12th century to modern times. Some of them are very fragile and hard to be recognized, and some were covered with plastic nets and sand bags for preservation. For more than 30 years, the Galle harbour was not open to leisure divers due to the war situation, until it was the home to the southern naval base.

The Maritime Archaeology Unit of Sri Lanka is recording and researching these wreck sites since 1992 and preserving them for the future. With the collaboration of Ruhunu Tourist Bureau, the Maritime Archaeology Unit will take you to the wrecks that were covered to the public eye for along time.

You are invited to see the difference and get a good idea of the wreck. It is the history and the formation through site plans and research presentations before you dive. Try to identify the wreck constructions and main parts which are decayed and camouflaged. See the artefacts still on the site.

Also you can see the research unit and the conservation laboratory with the on going treatments for the artefacts brought out from the wrecks. And you are cordially invited to visit the Maritime Archaeology Museum of the Central Cultural Fund situated next to the Diving Unit and see the rich maritime history of Sri Lanka.