Negombo (Sinhala ‘Migamuwa’) is a traditional fishing village which is now a thriving tourist hub. A tale behind the town’s Sinhala name says that bees alighted on a boat at sea and the place where the boat beached was called ‘Migamuwa’. Negombo’s coastline and close proximity to Sri Lanka’s International Airport have been factors in it becoming a popular tourist destination. Negombo hotels cater to different budgets and if it is comfort and life on a lagoon’s edge you want then Amagi Lagoon & Resort Spa bordering the Negombo Lagoon would be one of the better choices of accommodation.
The waters of the palm fringed Negombo Lagoon has been harvested for the ocean’s bounty for centuries and the lagoon yields plentiful harvests providing a livelihood for hundreds of fisher folk. It boasts of a high diversity in flora and fauna and has the most diverse mangrove community on Sri Lanka’s western coast. The main resources of the lagoon are fish, prawns, crabs and lobsters which migrate to the lagoon as they find it a rich source of food and a suitable habitat to grow in till they return as adults to the open ocean. Beautiful ornamental fish inhabit this beautiful Lagoon. Fishing takes place all year round and fishing methods include several traditional method like athu kotu (brush pile),kakulu pettiya, (crab pot) and kattu del (stake-net fishing). This method is used by small scale fishermen to catch shrimp as they migrate to the open sea from the estuary. Outrigger canoes, dug out rafts and sail boats are some of the fishing craft plying on the waters of the lagoon. The fish caught here is marketed at the Negombo fish market (Lellama), the second largest fish market in Sri Lanka. The lagoon also yields other products like tannins, lime, bait, fish food and peat.
Birds, crocodiles, monitor lizards and toque monkeys make the area home and at times, otters and the slender loris can be spotted. Along with the neighboring Muturajawela wetland, the Negombo Lagoon has much potential for ecotourism and is well worth a visit.
Intrigued by history, art and food, Lavinia Woolf is a writer who is passionate about the extraordinary and writes of the exhilarating and enchanting. Google+
