SRI LANKA

Several thousand years ago, legends have it that an army of monkeys invaded the country of Sri Lanka – and that resulted in the epic known as the Ramayana.    In 2018, one monkey (Vinnie) went to Sri Lanka to dive.    Vinnie looked at the amazing wrecks and fish life, and said “wow”.  Then he looked at how under the radar this amazing diving was, and said “bleep”.

And from such tale-worthy origins was born our first international foray.

DIVEIndia SRI LANKA: Scuba Diving in Sri Lanka

DIVEIndia is now operating in Sri Lanka – we have partnered with the good folks of Island Scuba to try to spread the word about the amazing wrecks of Colombo and the reefs of Trincomalee.

It did require that we had to sit on Vinnie till he accepted that just because they have Tamil speakers over there wasn’t sufficient grounds to call it “DIVEIndia Colombo” (and once he started arguing with Sayeed and Vikas that anything south of the Gurgaon toll booth qualifies as South India, things kinda went off on a tangent).

Actually, while we are proud of the DIVEIndia name, operations in Sri Lanka will continue under the Island Scuba brand name – after all, the team from Island Scuba was responsible for discovering all the wrecks around Colombo (and given our history of having discovered all the major dive sites of Havelock, how can we not admire that?) and while they have been a small operation, they have always offered the same blend of competent professionalism and welcoming vibes that we go for – which explains why we have been recommending them for years on our Facebook group.

So great diving, easy access and fantastic vibes – what else do you need?

Please visit the Island Scuba website for the Best Scuba Diving in Sri Lanka, more information or to book you diving.

Colombo

From November to April, the weather permits diving on the western  coast of Colombo – and this is the region’s best-kept secret, especially for certified divers:  the waters off Colombo are host to an amazing array of ship-wrecks, most of which are in excellent condition and offer interesting penetration opportunities for keen wreck divers.   And for those who prefer to view their wrecks from the outside, these sites are covered with soft coral and teeming with vast schools of snappers and jacks.     Oh, and did we mention the occasional whale shark?

Trincomalee

From May-October, the winds shift and we move to the eastern coast of Sri Lanka – this time, a more traditional diving location, with golden beaches, rustic villages and reefs with the ever-present wide variety of fish life, highlighted by frequent whale shark sightings.   The diving here is relaxing and suitable for all experience levels, and the post-dive afternoons and evenings are even more relaxing… this is Sri Lanka at its prettiest!