Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BUS
The Matara bus station ( GOOGLE MAP ; New Tangalla Rd) is a vast multilevel place. Look
for tiny destination signs over the queuing pens. As Matara is a regional transport hub, ser-
vices are frequent in all directions. At the time of research there were no services using the
new expressway to Colombo but this may change. Major destinations include the follow-
ing:
Colombo regular/air-con Rs 200/395, five hours
Galle Rs 67, two hours
Ratnapura Rs 215, 4½ hours
Tangalla Rs 60, 1½ to two hours
CAR
The section of the Southern Expressway linking Matara to Galle (30 minutes) and Co-
lombo's suburbs (1¾ hours) opened in 2014. It follows a pretty route inland through rice
fields and tea plantations. The entrance is 5km northwest of the centre.
TRAIN
Matara's train station is the present terminus of the coastal railway, although work is pro-
gressing on an extension as far as Kataragama which may open later in the decade. Destin-
ations include the following:
Colombo 2nd/3rd class Rs 230/130, four hours
Galle Rs 80/40, one to 1½ hours
Kandy Rs 360/195, seven hours
Dondra
About 5km southeast of Matara you come to the town of Dondra, which is dominated by
the important Tanaveram Buddhist temple , which was one of the island's primary places
of worship until a previous - and grander - incarnation was destroyed in 1587.
Travel south from the centre for 1.2km and you'll reach the southernmost point of Sri
Lanka. The landmark Dondra Head Lighthouse (admission Rs 600; hours vary) provides
an exclamation mark to the setting and you can climb the interior for fabulous views.
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