Stilt Fishing & Coastal Crafts
The stilt fishermen of the south coast, and the mask carvers and lace makers who work along the same road.
Stilt fishing is unique to a short stretch of the southern coast. A fisherman balances on a single pole driven into the reef and fishes the shallows at dawn and dusk — a technique invented after the Second World War when the usual spots grew crowded. It is genuinely practised, though some poles near the main road are now maintained for photographs, and we will take you to the working ones and be straight with you about the difference.
The same coast road holds two other crafts worth an hour each: the mask-carving workshops at Ambalangoda, where kolam and devil-dance masks are still cut from light kaduru wood and painted by hand, and the beeralu lace makers of Galle, working a bobbin technique the Portuguese left behind four centuries ago.
What’s included
- Working stilt fishermen at dawn or dusk
- Ambalangoda mask carving and the kolam tradition
- Beeralu bobbin lace, a Portuguese inheritance
- Honest guidance on which poles are genuinely fished
- Excellent photography in low light
- Buy directly from the carvers and lace makers
Add Stilt Fishing & Coastal Crafts to your trip
Tell us roughly when you are in the country and we will check availability, arrange the transport to get you there and fold it into the rest of your itinerary.
- A reply within 24 hoursUsually the same working day.
- Fits around your plansWe work it into the days you already have.
- Nothing to pay nowNo card details to check availability.
Other things to do
All activities
Half day (two dives)Diving & Snorkelling
Coral gardens, colonial-era shipwrecks and reef sharks — on whichever coast is in season.
PriceOn enquiry
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One of the easiest places in the world to learn, and a serious destination once you can stand up.
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5–6 hoursWhale & Dolphin Watching
The largest animal that has ever lived, within a morning boat ride of the shore.
PriceOn enquiry