Aluthgama with a private driver

Aluthgama sits at the mouth of the Bentota Ganga river where a busy road bridge separates the Bentota resort strip to the south from the older fishing town and Beruwala to the north. The Aluthgama fish market — operating from early morning alongside the river — is one of the most photogenic and fragrant in the southwest, with tuna, barracuda, ray and snapper unloaded from overnight fishing boats as buyers from Colombo restaurants arrive. The town is also the land-side embarkation point for Bentota Ganga river safaris into the mangrove channels where monitor lizards, water monitors and a rich assortment of kingfishers, night herons and purple-faced langurs are regularly seen. Your driver can time a fish-market visit at 7am with a river safari before the heat builds.