Please, please never visit this place!!! It was so incredibly terrible that we left crying. We were there in the evening and thought it was already closed. A man came towards us and told us we could visit the reception center for 1500 LKR. We gave it to him and then he said exactly one sentence: "The eggs that we bring here from the beach are hatched here. This takes about 2.5 months." After that he left. Shortly afterwards another man came and said we should hold the baby turtles in our hands to take photos. This too was gone and we were able to really look around and see what kind of hell we had landed in. Yes, there are turtles that are obviously sick, but I doubt whether keeping five of them in 1m2 (max. 20cm water depth!!!) will help them recover. The other tanks were also far too small and too dirty to keep these animals permanently. That was the most horrible place I've ever been. I can only advise against ever visiting this place. This is animal cruelty and I hope the people who run this place are never held captive in such a small space with 4 other people!

Here comes the Sea Turtle hatchery in Habaraduwa into play. Whenever a turtle gets injured , the people from Habaraduwa – but also neighbouring cities like Mirissa, Pelena, Walliwela and Unawatuna – bring wounded animals to the Sea Turtle Hatchery. They heal their wounds and let them revalidate and put them back into the ocen when they are fully recovered. When a turtle is carrying eggs, she is said to be gravid, not pregnant. Well, every female turtle is carrying eggs, but they’re infertile until a male turtle passes by and does his thing. The female turtles then search for a nice place on the beach and lay their eggs under the sand. The people from the sea turtle hatchery pay close attention to the beach and when they see a turtles nest, they dig up the eggs and take them home. That’s why the name says hatchery. They have an area in their garden with around 1000 eggs at any given time. Why do they dig up the eggs? Turtle eggs are a precious good for animals and humans. Apparently, it’s a delicacy and some people tend to eat the eggs or sell them for a lot of money. When the eggs hatch in the hatchery they put the baby turtles immediately in the sea so they can have the free life they deserve. If they see some weaker baby turtles they let them strengthen in the hatchery for a while until they’re ready to go. If you want to visit the hatchery, the entrance is 500 LKR (around 3 dollars/euros). You’re always free to give them some donations so they can keep the turtles near Mirissa & Unawatuna safe. Or you can buy something in their super cute souvenir shop.

I wouldn't call this place a farm! There are small turtles that you can pick up and even release into the ocean for 2000 rupees! Several small pools with adult turtles, two wounded turtles, a sick albino, a deformed shell. There is a fenced area where turtle eggs are supposed to be laid; signs indicate the number of eggs, the date of laying and the breed of turtles. In general, it’s interesting, you can pick up a small turtle and stroke it more.

Great for animal lovers. A very good facility if they do everything the way they say. The stay is very informative. You quickly learn a lot about turtles. For an additional charge you can accompany baby turtles on their way to the sea. This then costs 2000 LKR per turtle. Super cute when the little rascals make their way through the high waves.

If I could I would give 0 stars. Unfortunately it is an absolute rip-off and tourist trap! It is questionable whether the men will care for the injured turtles. A particularly rare albino turtle is advertised in front of the door. It is in absolutely bad condition and the employee's statements contradict each other. The turtles are in a mini tank. Apparently over 100 turtles hatch every day. At the entrance we were told the entrance fee of 1500 Lkr included the release of the turtles. Afterwards they wanted $20 from us! The men want to make money from the turtles. He handed us the little turtles and as we ran to the beach he slammed the gate behind us and disappeared. We were given no instructions on how to release the turtles. They weren't interested in it. I strongly advise against supporting them!!

What we liked least in all of Sri Lanka. Unprofessional workers, with gold pendants. It does not seem that they care for turtles there, but rather that they take advantage of them to attract tourists. They “explained” things to us, it seemed like they were improvising everything, and they wanted to charge us for leaving turtles in the sea. Nothing recommendable.

nice place to see the turtles, but owner (or guide) is a scammer. he offered an excursion to a nearby lake at a price 4 times higher than the real one. don't agree, go on your own.

Wonderful project! The entry (for charity) is 1000R at day time and 1500R including the baby turtle release. Go there in the evening, if you’re lucky they are releasing baby turtles at 6pm

**Disappointing Experience** Our visit to the hatchery was underwhelming. Despite the steep entrance fee of LKR 1500 per person, the experience fell short. Once inside, there was a no guidance or explanations about the facility or the turtles. The enclosure contained four large turtles and a few smaller ones. Suspiciously, multiple labels were placed on a small sand bed, falsely suggesting various types of eggs were present. It seemed more like a money-making endeavor than a genuine turtle rescue effort, with some turtles kept in poor conditions. Overall, it was a disheartening visit that didn't live up to expectations of ethical turtle conservation.

If you guys happens to be in Galle unawatuna. Please step in to the turtle hatchery in Habaraduwa. This place is a must. I’m referring to the turtles. This a calm and quiet place and very neat. You guys get to see the turtles. Also they protect these turtles from getting killed. And protect their eggs as well. It doesn’t cost much. So please visit this place guys.

Beautiful place to be

Cheap to enter, the workers there take time to explain what happened to all of these injured turtles. They rescue them and then use the pools here to let them recover until they're fit enough to be released back into the wild.

Convenient location and they provide good explanation as well. Ideal for tourists. Have no idea whether they do not provide tickets for locals. The person had a ticket book though. Can recommend. Mr. Sudantha gave very good explanation about animals. Nice and friendly person.

Amazing place to visit. If you plan to visit Galle u must come this place and see different types of turtles and u can have a full dtails and fun facts about turtles.

The story of how, after 30 years of age, 5 species of sea turtles endemic to Sri Lanka, return to the beaches surrounding Mirissa to lay their eggs is a story that all ages will find worth hearing. The plight of these beautiful creatures trying to lay their 100 plus eggs and the reality being faced by maurauding dogs, crows and hungry humans let alone having successfukly evaded the omnipresent fishing nets, means they need our help BIG TIME . It doesn't take long to do the tour, which includes injured turtle rehabilitation and coupled w the knowledge that your tourist $ keeps this tiny business afloat make this a very worthwhile break.

A lovely way to experience what the south of srilanka has to offer,the staff were very nice. Entrance Tickets for Foreigners was 1500/-. The guid inside was very Good in describing the Types,Size and age of each sea turtle. He allowed us to hold a Baby Sea turtle and asked if we would like to release a pair inturn we had to make a donation (4K),we declined and he explained to us that they always release 2 simultaneously because they have a bond a sense of safety in pairs. Really recommend to anybody wanting to have this experience.

Sea turtles lovers must visit this place and you can get fantastic experience. There are different kind of sea turtles and baby leatherbacks too.babies are very cute and lovely. You can get babies to hand and take pictures with inform owners. Small place but sufficient turtles are there. They charge for entrance local Rs 100 foreigners Rs 500.turtles are human friendly and they are come to top of the water. Two person explain in English and you can ask any thing about sea turtles.

Great place to visit if you love turtles. The staff is cool and they are well aware about turtles. We could touch and hold the turtles too. Should appreciate their service towards conserving turtles, even disabled ones.

Very friendly expertise in turtles.... learnt alot about them....must visit place

Great place for sea turtle lovers! So many sea turtles and you can see so many sea turtle varieties. They heal their wounds and let them revalidate and put them back into the ocean when they are fully recovered.

Nice & friendly staff; more datails can be gathered about Sea Turtles.

The Turtle Hatchery is just beside the road with easy access to anyone who's willing to have a look at these little cuties..! The turtles are kept in separate tanks based on their ages from smaller sizes to big. There's a corner with the eggs too. Try visiting the place during the time when the little ones are released out to the sea..!

Good place to get experience of ses turtle

Great sport to stop and see some turtles and support the turtle hatchery and rehabilitation center.

Nice place to see the beauty of the sea turtles.Everyone can learn more about the turtles.After the pandemic it's open again.

A good place to see turtles.

I had a really nice visit in this place in January 2022. They have different kinds of sea turtles that require men's help to recover before caretakers will let them into ocean again. And you can see, and touch and make photos of all those turtles - kind of contact that you can't do in any other place. Don't forget to ask them when they let the new-born littles turtles out - if you are lucky to be there on that day - you can get another unforgettable experience of letting those little-ones into ocean with your own hands.

Amazing organisation. They are helping turtles that are hurt and babies to give them better chances to survive in the wild. The keepers obviously care about the animals a lot.

Great place to have a experience of Turtles. Friendly supportive staff. Very informative.

Lovely little place in Galle. There are various types of turtles. They do small conservation work by saving the turtles, baby and adults.

This NGO is doing their bit in rescuing and treating the turtles which are at higher risk. They treat the turtles which are injured due to human activities and bring them back to life. They also have the baby turtles which they leave back to the ocean. They also collect the turtle eggs and ensure that the baby turtles get a life on this planet. They spread awareness among people which will help us all save the future of turtles in Sri Lanka and around the world

It's an organization working towards conservation of turtles. You could see many different varieties of turtles here. There were turtles recovering from injuries here too and once they are fit, they would be released back to the sea. You could also release baby turtles to sea, but it seems to happen only in the evening. Overall, It's a good initiative, and recommend to anyone who wants to get to know about these beautiful creatures and help in their conservation.

Exciting experience! You can see the turtle conservation process, look, and touch baby turtles. If you come in the evening, you may be lucky to have a chance to release some baby turtles to the ocean.

Nice place helping turtles which would not survive in the ocean. Also hetchery, you can see little turtles before they relase them. People here can speak good english and tell you a lot about turtles.

An educational place to see sea turtles and learn about their behaviours. They also have injured turtles who are under their care.

Great experience and amazing job done by this group. Keep up the good work! One recommendation only: they should enforce more strict rules to keep children (and adults who behave like children) under control when they approach the turtles. Visitors: I know you are on holiday, but please bring your brain with you during the visit, don’t just go there to see the tiny cute turtles!

Can get ideas about turtles from born and until release to sea....👍

I’m always conflicted about conservation. But I felt confident after visiting that this organisation is acting in the interests of the turtles and not profiteering. The guide seemed to genuinely care for all the turtles and gave us a very informative tour around each of the tanks explaining why each turtle was there what medication it was on and when it would be released. I was happy to pay knowing my money is going towards feeding and caring for the turtles.

Nice and clean, well maintained sea turtle hatchery.

Got to see some amazing little turtles that are in the care of a lovely family who help make sure the turtles are well looked after before released back into the wild and the ones that are injured they keep to look after as the wild would kill them. It only cost ₹1500 which is a good price to help these animals

It is non-sence they charge it for 5 USD but there are 3 small pools of 10 by 10 size.and there are 4 to 5 turtles inside

It is a nice place to visit and you can get a nice experience about turtles and the explaniers who explain are very excellent you can learn about turtles very much the beach also very clean and tidy if you go there you can learn all the information about turtles

Good and a safe place for sea turtles And the green turtles are very friendly ,♥️♥️

Very nice turtule paradice

Very nice

Actually It's very nice❤️

Very nice place.

Perfect place to see sea turtles

Good place.they escape them.

Nice place🖤🐢

This is the best place....to watch turtles...please come and visit and make your donations to save mother sea...❤️❤️❤️

Good place see verity of turtels and educate all information regarding turtel..

Very excellent service

Verry good..👍👍

Very nice place. Good people. You can talk with them and get knowledge about turtle. Need to pay 100 sri lankan Rupees for Local per person. you can get opportunity to release baby turtle when you come evening (after 5pm). They are securing turtle eggs and after baby turtle come protecting and releasing to the sea. I can recommend this place to everyone. Your babies will love more.

Amazing place. Well explained about sea turtles. Seems those sanctured tuttles are well looked after..would like to recommend this place.

its such a nice place, u’ll have nice view of turtles ♥️

Very informative. Good place to see baby turtles.

Great place to have a experience of Turtles. Friendly supportive staff. It was a great experience. And hats of to you guys for doing this kind of work by protecting them👍👍👍

Good place to see turtles ans staff is good in very helpful and informative.

It is very beautuful place to visit.

A very nice place with lovely sea turtles ...got some friendly turtles too...nice place to visit...highly recommended ❤️❤️

A good place to see and learn about turtles. But not sure how much they are genuinely committed to the purpose of conserving the species. Just felt that their main purpose was to earn money while showing some turtles to the visitors. There are some other better places nearby.

Great experience.

Great place to see turtles. Friendly place

Great place to see sea turtles.

This hatchery is doing a great work to the community. Hats off!!!

Lovely place and we had grade time with sea turtles..

Good

Wonderful turtle are there.don't forget to see them

Very nice please ....

Great place to see sea turtles 🐢

We came here it’s really worth to looking into this place Mr venura was so helpful for us. Pls do vist them next time when your around down south

(Translated by Google) I liked it very much, there are a lot of different types of food. Everything is super. They are fed and looked after. These turtles suffered during the military and fish actions of people. (Original) Очень понравилось, очень много ченепах разных видов. Все супер. Их кормят и ухаживают. Эти черепашки пострадали во время военных и рыбных действий людей.

Nice place and a must try in habaraduwa.

great experience for kids

It's a wonderful place which serves the little turtles to see the sun light. Keep up the good work.

Very Nise

Turtles kept in captivity. The possibility to release a turtle for 5000,- at any time of the day, so 99% of the time it will die. I do not recommend!