• The
Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara is ( also known as Mulkirigala Rock Temple) north of the town. The temple is perched on a boulder approximately high. According to ancient inscriptions carved on the rock, Mulkirigala dates back almost 2,000 years when it was a site of a Buddhist monastery. The temple complex consists of ancient murals, a recumbent Buddha statue, devalayas, and several cave temples all of which are found at different levels while ascending the peak of the rock. One of the caves houses a library in which, a most important discovery was made in 1826 by a British administrator, George Turnour, who found a number of olas (palm-leaf manuscripts) containing the key to translating the Mahawamsa, the 'Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka'. Turnour's discovery of the tika, or commentary, made it possible for the Mahawamsa to be translated from Pali first into English and then into Sinhala, this translation then enabled scholars to study the history of the island from 543BC to comparatively modern times. • The
Parewella Natural Swimming Area, is located from Tangalle town center. •
Hummanaya blowhole, is located north of the town in the fishing village of Kudawella. It is the only blowhole in Sri Lanka. •
Kalametiya Bird Sanctuary is east of the town. The Kalametiya Bird Sanctuary was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1938, originally with 2,500 hectares but was abolished in 1946 due to the opposition by local residents. It was once again declared a sanctuary in 1984 but with a considerably reduced area. The Kalametiya Bird Sanctuary is an area of coastal lagoons and
mangroves, which is rich in marine and home to four nationally threatened birds:
Indian Reef Heron (Egretta gularis);
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus);
Black-capped Purple Kingfisher (Halcyon pileata);
Sri Lankan Junglefowl (Gallus lafayettii), as well as other birdlife and reptiles, a large number of which are nationally and globally threatened. •
Turtle Watch Rekawa is east of the town. At the beach you can watch five species of marine turtles:
Green turtles,
Loggerhead turtles,
Leatherback turtles,
Olive Ridley turtles and
Hawksbill turtles laying their eggs in the sand nests at night. The Turtle Conservation Project that conducts a `turtle watch’ programme, which protects the nesting sites until the hatchlings return to the ocean. ==Education==