Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Refresh Hotel
INTERNATIONAL
This Western-style restaurant always has a few tourist vans parked out front. The setting is
peaceful, and its even got a bit of style. Food spans the gamut from pizzas to pasta to local
favourites (which have been tamed down for the timid).
Information
Banks, ATMs and markets are easily found on Main Rd in the centre of town.
Getting There & Around
Few buses go directly to the Hill Country, and if you can't get one you'll need to change at
Wirawila junction (Rs 19, 30 minutes) and/or at Wellawaya (Rs 80). There are no buses to
Yala National Park. Three-wheelers around town and out to Tissa Wewa and beyond will
cost Rs 100 to Rs 200. Other major bus destinations from Tissa include:
Colombo
Rs 540, eight hours (buses start in Kataragama, so may be crowded when they
reach Tissa).
Tangalla
Rs 110, two hours
Around Tissamaharama
Wirawila Wewa Bird Sanctuary
West of Tissa, the Hambantota-Wellawaya road runs on a causeway across the large Wir-
awila Wewa. This extensive sheet of water forms the Wirawila Wewa Bird Sanctuary. The
best time for birdwatching is early morning.
Kirinda
047
Oceanside Kirinda, 12km south of Tissa, is a place on the edge. On one side its sandy
streets and ramshackle buildings give way to a series of magnificently bleak and empty
beaches (heavy undertows make swimming here treacherous but they're perfect for long
