Kalpitiya Whale Shark and Dugong Grounds
Dive site
The Bar Reef marine sanctuary and the seagrass meadows of Kalpitiya lagoon form a two-habitat system on Sri Lanka's northwest coast. Whale sharks aggregate around the bar reef and offshore pinnacles between October and May, drawn by plankton upwellings in the Palk Bay. The sheltered lagoon behind holds a resident population of dugongs, one of the few confirmed sites in South Asia, grazing on dense Halodule and Cymodocea seagrass beds.
Conditions
Depth
2 to 25 m
Open water and up
Current
Often strong
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
5 to 10 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
27 to 31°C
3 mm shorty
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| Vis (m) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| Current | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Moderate | Strong | Strong | Strong | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle |
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