Batticaloa

Batticaloa is built around a long lagoon, with the old fort on an island in it, begun by the Portuguese in 1628 and rebuilt by the Dutch, a compact square of coral-stone walls with bastions. The city's other claim is the singing fish: on still nights, particularly around the full moon between April and September, a musical humming can be heard from the water near Kallady bridge, usually attributed to fish or to shrimp, and never conclusively explained.

What you actually see

• The fort - a coral-stone Dutch square on an island in the lagoon.
• The singing fish - a humming heard from the lagoon on still nights, unexplained.
• The Kallady bridge - the crossing where the sound is traditionally listened for.
• The lagoon - a long shallow water body the whole city is arranged around.

When to go

April to September is the drier season on the east coast. The singing is reported on calm nights around the full moon in those months. The northeast monsoon brings heavy rain from November.

Honest expectations

The singing fish are heard rarely and many visitors listen and hear nothing; boatmen offer the experience with more confidence than is warranted. The fort is small and partly in official use. Facilities in the city are basic.

Nearby

Pasikuda is north, and Kumana is far south.