The night I watched a turtle lay her eggs.

I had come to Tangalle with one particular experience in mind: I wanted to see a sea turtle come ashore at night.

The beaches around Rekawa are known for nesting turtles, and this was one of the reasons I chose to stay in the area. I had read about them before my trip, and I really hoped I would be lucky enough to see one for myself.

One night, I went for a walk along the beach with Pubudu, a local chef I had met during my stay.

It was close to midnight.

The beach was almost completely dark. We walked slowly along the shore, listening to the waves and watching the sand and vegetation around us.

There was no special equipment or organised tour. We were simply walking and looking for signs that a turtle had
come ashore.

Sometimes you can see a trail in the sand leading from the water towards the vegetation. Other times, you hear something moving among the leaves.

That night, we heard the rustling before we saw her.

A turtle in the darkness

She was there, slowly digging into the sand.

She would dig, stop for a moment, move again and continue making her nest.

Everything happened slowly.

There was something almost unreal about standing there in the darkness and watching a wild animal quietly doing exactly what she had come to the beach to do.

We stayed quiet and kept our distance.

The beach belonged to her.

Why the beach was so dark

I remember how unusual it felt not to use an ordinary flashlight.

When you are walking at night, your first instinct is to turn on a bright light and see what is around you. But nesting turtles are sensitive to light, and bright white or yellow lights can disturb them.

Red light is used for turtle watching because it is less disturbing, and visitors are expected to keep their distance and avoid interfering with the turtle’s
nesting process.

That night, I understood why.

In the darkness, there was no need to see everything clearly. We could hear the ocean, hear the leaves moving and simply wait.

Listening for the signs

One of the things I remember most is how simple it was.

There was no dramatic moment when someone suddenly announced that a turtle had arrived.

You walked along the beach.

You looked for tracks in the sand.

You listened.

And then, sometimes, you noticed the quiet movement of leaves and realised that something was happening just beyond the edge of the beach.

It made me look at the coastline differently.

What had seemed like an ordinary dark beach suddenly felt full of life.

A night I had hoped for

I had travelled to Sri Lanka on my own, and seeing a nesting turtle was one of the experiences I had really hoped for.

That was one of the reasons I chose to stay around Tangalle. I had read about the turtles that come ashore at night, and I wanted to see this for myself.

So when we finally heard the rustling in the leaves and found her digging in the sand, it felt
almost surreal.

This wasn’t an accidental encounter.

It was something I had travelled there hoping to experience — and somehow,
it happened.

The night I still remember

Eventually, she finished nesting and began making her way back towards the ocean.

I watched her slowly cross the sand, following the path that led back towards
the water.

There was no big ending.

Just the sound of the ocean, the darkness, the rustling leaves and a turtle slowly making
her way home.

I had gone to Tangalle hoping to see a nesting turtle.

I got my wish.

And it remains one of my favourite memories from Sri Lanka.