Yet another place to be toured regarding Sri Lankan tourism sites is Rumassala. In the colonial era, it was known as 'Buona Vista' (pleasant view). The legendary chronicle ‘Ramayana’ proclaims that ‘Rumassala’ is a chunk of Himalayan Mountains in India. Rumassala hill gives you a beautiful view of the southern coast of Galle. Colonials used Rumassala as a watering point to fill their crafts with fresh water. Even today we can see the Surplus of the jetty. By the way, now it has become a service center for ships and crafts. The Rumassala forest has a vast collection of bio diversity. It is a yet another home to mammals, birds, insects, and reptiles. Some of the indigenous and endemic animals, plants had been survived in the jungle. The ocean is quite rich with coral reefs and sea bio diversity. Tourists can snorkel, dive and explore the underwater bio diversity. However, the Rumassala mountain range and the coral reefs have been ensured.
Rumassala is the best place to spend and enjoy your weekends leisurely. The epic ‘Ramayana’ reveals a beautiful folklore. Occasionally King Ravana and Rama were in the battlefields; lots of soldiers of Rama’s army get wounded and injured. Therefore Rama pleased to the Monkey King ‘Hanuman’ to bring few medicinal herbs from Himalayan Mountains. The herbs were namely Mritasanjeevani, Bidhalayakarani, Suvarnakarani, and Sandhani. But Hanuman couldn’t recognize those listed herbs. So that he brought back a part of gigantic Himalayan Mountains. Henceforward finding the required herbs, Hanuman threw away the rest of the mountain part. Today this part of Himalayan Mountain, fallen to Sri Lanka is known as Rumassala. So that there is no doubt that there are medicinal herbs. The solemn shrine, Japanese peace pagoda was gifted by Japanese monk Nichidatsu Fuhi thero; founder of the Nipponzan – Myohoji Nikaya in Japan. It has added some colors to the Rumassala mountain. Thus a giant statue of Hanuman is built at the Peace pagoda temple. Even today devotees visit this statue and worship ‘Hanuma’ (Hanuman is believed to be a God now). A panoramic view of the Galle bay and the Indian Ocean will entertain you at the top of this hill.
The reef also supports the fishermen in the area to catch fish. You will see the traditional fishermen engaged with their fishing duties. So far it is more legitimate for family trips and picnics. Please remind that not to disturb the bio diversity of Rumassala.