Batticaloa: Lagoon City of Forts and Singing Fish
Batticaloa, or Batti, wraps around a vast lagoon on the east coast. It is a gentle, less-visited city of bridges, palmyra palms and a strong Tamil and Muslim cultural mix.
The fort
The small Dutch fort in the centre is easy to walk and gives a sense of the colonial trading past. The lagoon-side setting is photogenic at golden hour.
Singing fish
Batticaloa is famous for the "singing fish", a faint musical sound heard over the lagoon on calm nights near the old Kallady Bridge, long woven into local legend.
Beaches
Kallady and Pasikuda to the north offer shallow, calm swimming, with Pasikuda known for its long wade-out sandbar.
Getting there
Batticaloa sits on the eastern railway line and is a natural stop between Trincomalee and Arugam Bay.
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