Coconut Tree Hill is a

lateritic Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

Mirissa Mirissa ( si, මිරිස්ස, translit=Mirissa; ta, மிரிஸ்ஸ, translit=Miris'sa) is a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in the Matara District of the Southern Province. It is approximately south of Colombo ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

located adjacent to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. It is a popular tourist destination in the country and is located at a headland with a coconut plantation. Coconut Tree Hill, despite being located on privately owned lands, is one of the most

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

med locations in Sri Lanka. In 1881,

Ernst Haeckel Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (; 16 February 1834 – 9 August 1919) was a German zoologist, naturalist, eugenicist, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biologist and artist. He discovered, described and named thousands of new sp ...

portrayed Mirissa "red cliffs" in the sunset in his book, ''A visit to Ceylon'' and described "they seem to burn like coal...". The hill has been recommended as a place to observe the sunrise for the tourists. The hill is located on the Mirissa beach which is contiguous to Weligama across the Weligama bay. Mirissa beach has been described as one of the "secret beaches" in the world.

2021 controversy

In 2021, a controversy arose after constructing a fence across the hill over the private land the hill is situated. Since the fence has been erected without prior approval from the Urban Development Authority and the Coast Conservation Department, the proprietor of the land was ordered to demolish the fence. After a social media outrage, then prime minister

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

was made aware of the situation. The land area of the hill is about 400

perches Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

of which 320 perches are owned by a Sri Lankan and the balance is owned by a foreigner. It is the Sri Lankan landowner who constructed the fence. Later, the hill was reopened for both local and foreign tourists.

References

{{Reflist Beaches of Sri Lanka Landforms of Matara District Headlands of Sri Lanka

2021 controversy

See also

References