Koggala Lake

A short 30-minute drive from Galle, the Koggala Lake is a little oasis embellished with ten small islands; some inhibited but most not. The 30 km lake takes almost 2 hours to explore with all its pit stops but it’s 2 hours well spent. The depth of the lake varies from as low as 3 feet to a maximum of 12 feet in the very middle of the lake. Our guide told us that the tsunami in 2004 had affected the depth of the water making some areas shallow – and in those areas, you will see fishermen standing knee-deep in the water casting their nets – and some areas are very deep. It’s important to have a boatman who knows the water well to avoid the frequently scattered rocks that may potentially scrape the barrel of the boat.

The lake has very rich biodiversity and an ecosystem with verdant mangrove swamps of kadol trees dotted occasionally with small flowers. It’s also alive in birdlife; cormorants and herons perched on a rock or a lone Bonelli’s eagle flying overhead as you cruise down the waters. The lake is rumoured to be home to a few crocodiles, but our guide told us they haven’t seen them in years as the busy activities on the lake have made them wary of visiting populated areas.

One of the main functions of Koggala Lake is its role in the fishing community, as the lake is abundant in seafood. Being a traditional fishing ground for centuries, the lake has many popular varieties of fish like barramundi, bull-eyed mackerel and barracuda. Perhaps one of the most unique experiences you can witness on Koggala lake is prawn fishing that happens at night a sight that can be witnessed from the South Lake Resort whose waterfront is at the epicentre of all this action. Fishermen come in the night and stay perched on little elevated seats on the water made from sticks with torches and lights cast into the water waiting to cast their nets at the right time.