Heading north from Negombo you’ll pass the villages of Marawila and Mahawewa. The latter is well known for its batik workshops, whose owners are usually happy to show visitors round and offer pieces for sale at slightly lower prices than in tourist shops elsewhere around the island.  A few further resort hotels and guesthouses dot the coast here, though the beach is narrow, and the whole stretch of coastline is rocky and rather wild.

The main road continues north from Mahawewa, running inland around Chilaw Lagoon to reach the bustling fishing town of Chilaw. The main point of interest here abouts is the Munnesvaram Temple, about 5 km (3 miles) inland. This is one of the most important Siva temples on the island — according to tra­dition, Vishnu himself came to worship at this site, a legend which neatly encap­sulates the alleged superiority of Siva (at least according to his devotees) over his major rival in the Hindu pantheon. The original temple was later destroyed by the Portuguese and the present building dates from the British colonial era. The lavishly decorated inner shrine houses the main Shiva lingam and a golden statue of his wife, Parvati, surrounded by a fine old wooden ambulatory housing shrines to various other deities and assorted chariots used in the annual temple festival held around August/ September each year.

Traveling North of Chilaw

At Uddapuwa between Mundal Lagoon and the sea, the terrain changes dramatically as you enter the Dry Zone. The fishing villagers here are descendants of a north Indian warrior caste who settled on this coast over a thousand years ago. They were the first converts to Catholicism when the Portuguese arrived and mass baptisms were held during which the converts acquired surnames like Mendis, de Silva and Fernando—though despite Christian influence, Uddapuwa is home also to a notable group of small Hindu temples along the coast.

The A3 coast road continues to the town of Puttalam, another busy fishing settlement whose proximity to the north has made it a major collecting point for Muslims evicted from the north by the Tamil Tigers. At Puttalam the A 12 turns inland to Anuradhapura, offering an alternative route to the Cultural Trian­gle. En route the road passes Wilpattu National Park. Wilpattu is the largest national park in the country, and before the civil war was also one of the most popular, famous for its leopards, as well as plentiful other wildlife. Its proximity to the front line of the war, however, led to it being placed out of bounds for the duration of the conflict, and although small parts of the park were reopened in 2003, work to restore dam­age to the park’s environment and wild life continues.