Where is Talpe?

Talpe is one of the most prominent villages within the Galle area, in Southern Sri Lanka. In a tourist sense, it is known as a good destination for swimming and surfing on its main beach- but it also has an extremely culturally diversified and demographically enhanced community.

The Galle area boasts of a long history stretching back centuries, even before the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial days. Some scholars believe it to be the "Tarshish" of the Old Testament to which King Solomon sent his merchant vessels. Today, Galle is home to the historic 90-acre preserved Dutch Fort, declared an archeological reserve by the UN since 1969. This walled city is the slow-beating heart of Galle, bearing witness to it's past through the near crumbling architecture of grand old buildings, street names, and Dutch churches, still active.

Pre-Tsunami, and soon to be again, Unawatuna Beach, 5 km east of Galle town, is the closest large beach to the Fort with wide, sheltered bays good for swimming and clear reefs for diving. Cottages and small restaurants lined the winding path to the bays and there is a beautiful picturesque temple dagoba at one extremity of the beach.

Despite its fading-hippy atmosphere, it is considered the most beautiful beach on the island of Sri Lanka and is certainly the least "touristified". Even in the windy season, it is a swimmable beach.