Unawatuna is the closest beach to Galle, a five-kilometre tuk-tuk ride east. A long crescent of yellow sand curves around a sheltered bay, with palm trees behind and a shoulder of jungle-covered headland at each end. The water is calm and clear by Sri Lankan standards — the offshore reef takes the force out of the swell — and snorkelling around the eastern headland turns up reef fish, sea turtles and the occasional moray eel.
The beach itself has been overdeveloped in places — small guesthouses, restaurants and bars line the shorefront — but the cleaner eastern end towards Jungle Beach is still pretty. The eighteenth-century Japanese Peace Pagoda above the bay is a steep but short walk and gives the best aerial view of Unawatuna.