Swimming with turtles in Sri Lanka

For me swimming with turtles in Sri Lanka was an amazing experience!  Is it also the one that you dream? Then, let me tell you my secret: Hikkaduwa beach, on the west coast of Sri Lanka! It is difficult for me to express how exhilarating it was to be underwater with these impressive ladies! They weren’t paying attention to me at all and I had to move away to let them swim whenever they were heading toward me. Is seemed fair enough, after all, I was the outsider in their environment!

An unexpected but fascinating encounter

These turtles leave only a few meters away from shore but I only met them recently even though I spend every weekend in Hikkaduwa. There are four of them and two are huge! The longest is at least 1,5 meters long and between 75 and 100 years old. Sri Lankan people collect seaweed to feed them. If you happen to be there at lunch time, you can even feed them yourself, but be careful, they can bite! Here is my secret to protect your fingers: grab the seaweed with the tip of your fingers and release it as soon as the turtle picks it!

For every full moon, Poya in Singhalese, the turtles come to lay eggs on the beach…but it is better to respect their privacy and not disturb them at this time.

How could I even imagine, when I woke up, that I was going to live such an amazing experience? I believe, this is one of the main advantages of living on a small island. Everyday surprises you and you find yourself living experiences you wouldn’t even have imagined! It is only when my friend Marie came to meet me in Sri Lanka that these turtles showed up and that I could finally meet them.

Moral of the story: get out of your comfort zone and you will make fabulous discoveries! Shanti travel organizes your trip out of the bitten tracks, contact us on our website. https://www.shantitravel.com/en/sri-lanka-maldives/