Janet's Journal

Pasikuda Bay sits on Sri Lanka’s eastern coast about 35 kilometres north of Batticaloa.  Discreet luxury holiday resorts nestle amongst the palm trees around the bay.  Pristine golden sands and clear turquoise shallow sea with gentle waves make this the perfect location for a relaxing few days.

To the north is the huge elephant rock. A popular place for a photo. The local boys all want to climb to the top for their photo shots, I decided to stay at the bottom. A wise decision as it turned out as a sudden squall swept in just after I got this picture taken.

 The small fishing fleet is tucked up at the back of the beach.  

At this end of the bay it’s a good idea to wear beach shoes as the sand disappears under a thick layer of broken coral and shells. 

It is said that Pasikuda has one of the longest stretches of shallow reef coastline in the world making it a popular destination for snorkelling amongst the vibrant coral reef and marine life.

At the southern end of the bay there is a small watersports centre offering a choice of paddle boarding, jet ski rides, or a boat ride across the bay and back.  

Sri Lankan Police lifeguards and several coastguard lookouts along the beach make this a safe location for swimming.

Pasikuda was originally a small Tamil fishing hamlet alongside Kalkudah just to the south.  It was a popular tourist destination but suffered huge devastation from the tsunami in 2004 and also from the Sri Lankan Civil War.  Now it is working to attract the visitors back.

I stayed at The Calm Resort & Spa at the northern end of the bay. It lived up to its name for a couple of days then seventy five Jaffna Hindu College Old Boys arrived for their Class of 87 quinquennial reunion. 

 They had travelled from all over the world. What fun they had swimming and playing water polo, beach volley ball, table tennis and reminiscing.   

In the evenings I would walk round to the southern end of the bay and have dinner in Amaya Beach Resort’s excellent ‘Honey Beach Cafe’.  

After dinner I would stroll back along the water’s edge, usually followed back by a small selection of dogs hopeful for any offerings of food before bedtime.

Getting to Pasikuda takes a little planning unless you have car. There is a small airport in Batticaloa with flights run by SriLankan Airlines or Cinnamon Air. If travelling by train you can get down at Valaichchena station and get a tuk tuk for the 6 kilometres to the resorts. 

 I opted for the daytime train which departed from Colombo Fort at 6.05 am, and I came back on the night train which was surprisingly comfortable and managed to sleep for several hours.  The 2^nd class fares were Rs1,100 and Rs 1,500 respectively.