Taprobane Island
Southern Province
About Taprobane Island
Taprobane is the full romantic fantasy: a one-house island the size of a garden, rising from the shallows of Weligama Bay in a mop of jungle green, reached - tide permitting - by wading across from the beach. The octagonal villa hidden in its crown was built in the 1920s by the self-styled Count de Mauny-Talvande, an exiled European aesthete who searched Ceylon for perfection and decided this rock was it; the American writer Paul Bowles later owned the island and wrote 'The Spider's House' here. Today the villa rents as one of Asia's most exclusive private-island stays, staff and infinity pool included. For everyone else, Taprobane is a sight and a story: photograph it from the beach at golden hour, palms silhouetted and villa roof just showing, and you hold the south coast's most elegant postcard.
Top Activities
- ✓Photographing the island from Weligama beach
- ✓Golden-hour silhouettes
- ✓Villa rental for the very fortunate
- ✓Combine with Weligama's surf and stilt fishermen
- ✓Coconut Tree Hill and Mirissa nearby
Nearby Attractions
Travel Tips
The island is private - admire from the beach unless you've booked it.
Low tide at golden hour gives the classic wading-distance photo.
Weligama's beach cafes opposite make perfect viewing seats.
Quick Info
Best Time
November to April
Weather
Sunny November–April; the wade across depends on tide and swell.
Estimated Daily Budget
5.9717°N, 80.4553°E
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