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Bentota is 65 km from south of Colombo in the South-western coastal belt of Sri Lanka, just across the Bentota Bridge over the River Benthara also called the ‘Benthara Ganga’ is the coastal town of Bentota. Bentota is a very pretty rural area: the greenery of the landscape needs a special mention. Most of the land is well shaded and sheltered by tall trees with coconut palm trees dominating the landscape. Bentota is famed as the prime beach resort of the south-western and southern coastal belts of Sri Lanka. The city of Kalutara with its fine beach is the gateway to south western and southern bay beaches. Kalutara is the next popular beach after Bentota. The Beruwala Bay Beach that is found just before reaching Aluthgama at the Bentota Bridge and Bentota Bay Beach just over the bridge are the most popular twin beaches along the coast. The coast towards the further South too is replete with lovely topical beaches making it ideal for a perfect beach holiday with the sun and sand.
This is a popular and fully geared tourist resort. Before the era of mass tourism and the consequent construction of the National Tourist Resort of Bentota, the first foreigners to stumble upon this charming spot, must have been Arab merchant sailors, who also discovered Beruwala in the 11th Century a little further north. However, the Bentota Bay Beach, being encompassed within the Bentota National Holiday Resort Complex that features a fully-fledged support and serve infrastructure, is the most popular beach resort of Sri Lanka. With an array of luxury hotels, facilities and amenities for the foreign tourists, Bentota provides the perfect location for extended holidays by the beach. Furthermore, for the lovers of water sports, Bentota, in addition to its pristine palm fringed beaches, brings in more pleasures nowhere else to be found.
Calm seas during the season from November to April make Bentota Beach ideal for snorkeling, diving, sailing, wind surfing, water-skiing and deep-sea fishing on a traditional outrigger canoe. Bentota enriched with safe swimming conditions in the season combined with fun water sports and exciting excursions that set up an ideal background for a relaxed holiday in Sri Lanka, is an attraction for families. Accommodation options at Bentota ranges from 5-star luxury resorts to midrange and budget properties.
However, it was the Portuguese who in the 17th Century built a small fort at the mouth of the Bentota or Bentara Ganga. This wide river marked the southern extremity of Portuguese held territory in the island, as Dutch sails appeared on the horizon further south. The Dutch used the fort during their rule, as a resting place for stagecoaches plying between Colombo and Galle.
Later the British converted this simple halt into a rest house for travelers. Its idyllic location and tranquility made it a popular haven. By the 1970s, the rest house had become a hotel, opening the door to the commercial strip marking the resort today.

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