Barberyn Island Lighthouse

Barberyn Island Lighthouse Barberyn Island Lighthouse Barberyn Island Lighthouse

The Barberyn Lighthouse in Beruwala is located on Barberyn Island; approximately half a mile offshore from the little town of Beruwala. This tiny 8 acre tropical island has hosted the lighthouse for over a century. Today, Barberyn Lighthouse is one of only four international lighthouses in Sri Lanka.

History

Barberyn Lighthouse was built by the British Colonials in 1889, to cope with the dangerous waters and underwater reefs in Beruwala that could rip out the bottoms of ships. The lighthouse was managed by the British Imperial Lighthouse Service.

After the country gained independence in 1948, the management was taken over by the Sri Lankan government. In 1969 the old dioptric apparatus produced by Chance Brothers was replace with a Pharos Marine PRB-21 sealed beam optic and drive pedestal rotating beacon. This made it one of the most modern lighthouses of the time. In 2000, technology caught up with the lighthouse and, a Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) was installed and the Barberyn lighthouse was linked via a network with all the major lighthouses in the country.

In 2004, the Boxing Day Tsunami hit the island; but the lighthouse was not affected, escaping damage miraculously. Today Barberyn takes its stand as an international lighthouse that provides safe passage to thousands of sea vessels every year.

Things to See

Visitors are not allowed to enter the lighthouse, due to a fairly recent debacle where some people caused a lot of trouble after entering. However, one of the five lighthouse keepers will be happy to have a chat and explain how the lighthouse is operated.

There are a few ruins from the British era; some of which have large open windows with picture postcard-like views. When you wander the island you will also find an old abandoned well that supplied water for the inhabitants.

Amongst the structures still in use, is an old clay roofed hut. The hut was a bar for lighthouse keepers during the British era. Though no more top quality alcohol remains nowadays, the hut is still used as a place to socialize and have fun.

Barberyn is an island that is reminiscent of a tropical paradise, with its pretty 100 foot tall lighthouse, swaying palm trees, thick tropical foliage, and bright blue sea. There’s even a few ruins to give it an exciting aura of mystery. Hence, it’s a great place to picnic, have a nice swim and spend a relaxing day at. Since not many people take the effort to talk to the fishermen and negotiate a reasonable price to ferry them over; there are not many visitors disturbing the peace and quite of the island. If proper permission is obtained, you may even be able to camp out and spend a night or two.

Barberyn Island Lighthouse 

Om Kalutara Distrikt

Kalutara ligger cirka 42 km syd for Colombo. Engang var det et vigtigt handelscenter for krydderier og blev kontrolleret af portugiserne, hollænderne og briterne på forskellige tidspunkter. Byen er kendt for sine kvalitetsbambuskurve og -måtter samt de lækreste mangostiner. Den 38 meter lange Kalutara Bro, der blev bygget ved mundingen af Kalu Ganga-floden, fungerer som en vigtig forbindelse mellem Sri Lankas vestlige og sydlige grænse. I den sydlige ende af broen ligger Kalutara Vihara, et buddhistisk tempel bygget i 1960'erne, og som har den unikke egenskab, at det er den eneste stupa i verden, der er hul indeni.

Om den Vestlige Provins

Den Vestlige Provins er den mest tæt befolkede provins i Sri Lanka. Den er hjemsted for den lovgivende hovedstad Sri Jayawardenapura samt Colombo, landets administrative og forretningsmæssige centrum. Provinsen er opdelt i tre hoveddistrikter: Colombo (642 km²), Gampaha (1.386,6 km²) og Kalutara (1.606 km²). Som Sri Lankas økonomiske centrum er den Vestlige Provins hjemsted for alle større lokale og internationale virksomheder samt store designermærker og high street detailhandlere, så vær klar til at forkæle dig selv med noget detailshopping i denne provins.

Med den højeste befolkning af alle provinser, har den Vestlige Provins også mange prestigefyldte uddannelsesinstitutioner, herunder University of Colombo, University of Sri Jayawardenepura, University of Kelaniya, Open University of Sri Lanka, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University og University of Moratuwa. Provinsen har også det største antal skoler i landet, herunder nationale, provinsielle, private og internationale skoler.

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