Kalpitiya

Dolphins before breakfast. Kite surfers by noon. The peninsula that does not advertise itself.

Kalpitiya is a narrow peninsula on the north-west coast, flanked by the Puttalam Lagoon on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other. Between November and April, spinner dolphins gather in the channel between the peninsula and the Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary in pods of several hundred --- sometimes several thousand --- animals.

Experiences at this stop

• Spinner dolphin watching --- pods of hundreds

The early morning boat reaches the dolphin grounds within 30 minutes. The pods here are dramatically larger than anything seen off Mirissa or Trinco. A pod of 500 spinner dolphins riding the bow wave, leaping and spinning around the boat for 45 minutes.

• Kite surfing --- Bar Reef Lagoon

The Puttalam Lagoon provides flat water, consistent wind, and a long shallow run ideal for beginners. Afternoon sessions when the sea breeze builds are the correct time.

• Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary --- snorkelling

One of the largest coral reef systems in Sri Lanka, gazetted as a marine sanctuary in 1992. The reef supports hawksbill sea turtles, leopard sharks, and coral recovering from protected status.

• Kalpitiya peninsula village visit

The fishing communities of the peninsula --- predominantly Muslim, with a Catholic minority descended from Portuguese settlement --- live on a sandbar a few hundred metres wide in places.