Rekawa Turtle watch
Sri lanka is known as one of the few places that you can watch and observe marine turtles in their natural habitat. Five out of seven of the world’s marine turtle species are found in Sri Lanka and come ashore in Rekawa to lay eggs, including green, loggerhead, hawksbill, olive ridley and leatherback. Turtles nest here all year round, but the main season is April to July. The rarest turtles to sight are the giant leatherbacks.
The Rekawa Turtle Watch is a marine turtle conservation project which aims to protect the turtles’ nesting sites and ensure that the eggs can hatch safely. Visitors can go on ‘turtle watch’ any evening of the year, where the volunteers from the center lead groups to the beach between 8:30pm and 11:30pm where you can watch the turtles laying eggs or returning to the sea. Waiting for turtles to appear can take a couple of hours, so patience is required. During the high season (April – July), 5-15 turtles appear each night, whereas during the low season (October – January) it is approximately 1-2 This is an awesome tour to get up and close with turtles and their natural habitat.
