Shore Excursion Colombo Port Passenger Terminal to Moonstone Mine
4.0
1 Rating
Meetiyagoda
Travel with ease and comfort using our shore excursion service. Enjoy a private vehicle tour to the top attractions such as the Meetiyagoda Moonstone mine, Ambalangoda Mask museum, Madu River, Bentota beach, and then back to the passenger terminal.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Meetiyagoda - Meetiyagoda Moonstones can occur in several colors, but there’s only one place in the whole world that produces the exquisite blue moonstone—Meetiyagoda in southwest Sri Lanka. In fact, Sri Lanka was so associated with this mysterious gem that moonstones used to go by the name Ceylon opal. Local legend has it that the land around Meetiyagoda has been blessed by the moon, and it’s obvious why. Underneath this small village is the world’s largest vein of a moonstone-bearing igneous rock called pegmatite. You’d think that an area so rich in this stunning gemstone would be heavily mined and scarred by machiners but digging by hand down through the topsoil, the miners use coconut wood scaffolding and fern leaves to prop up and line the sides of the shafts as they go. Once they hit the pegmatite layer, the miners begin to tunnel, again using coconut beams to keep the tunnels from collapsing. Collected in buckets, the moonstone-bearing gravel is then winched up the mine shaft – again by hand.
What's Included
- Lunch included
- Professional driver provided
- Transport in an air-conditioned car
- All entrance tickets included
Additional Information
- Dress code is smart casual
Location
Meetiyagoda
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.0
(1 Rating)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Arthur_t
Mar 17, 2019
;Moonstone Mine & Madu River Safari - Our excellent Driver/Guide Narlin was on the warf to meet us when we disembarked from the ship and wisked us away in his airconditioned sedan. Nilan whose English was very good and his driving excellent knew all the backroads and missed Colombo’s notorious traffic.
The Moonstone mine was unique and fascinating. When we arrived at Madu River Safari there was confusion about what the tour covered. They wanted us to pay for lunch and the boat fee. After we pointed out that these items were included on the voucher they agreed to pay but they would not pay the 600 Rupees each for the fish massage or 2000 Rupees each entrance fee for the Turtle Hatchery as they were not specified on the voucher although included on the tour description.
Maybe we are entitled for a refund for these items.
Apart from this the tour was excellent and far superior to any offered by the ship.
Arthur
Review provided by Viator
