 Hummanaya blow-hole
by Nilma Dole
 The rumbling of the Hummanaya
blowhole is like a giant ogre’s tummy in hunger. It is a spooky sound
enough to scare you without warning but it is indeed delightful to
watch.
Though, you should be careful. Speaking to us was a guide, Nihal who
warned us. “In 1995, there were 15 people who were sucked into the
blowhole as it released a big jet of water!”
Nestled comfortably on Sri Lanka’s southern coast lies the village of
Kudawella where the blowhole makes its home. The town lies between
Dikwella and Tangalle (off the 183/3 culvert on the A2 Highway from
Colombo to Kataragama). You have to walk for about 10 minutes up to the
cliff at the shore to watch this natural wonder.
In geology, a blowhole is formed as sea caves grow landwards and
upwards into vertical shafts and expose themselves towards the surface,
which can result in quite spectacular blasts of water from the top of
the blowhole if the geometry of the cave and blowhole and state of the
weather are appropriate. The blowhole is located on a rock about 40 ft
above sea level and this magnificent site was first discovered after a
close scrutiny of photographs taken from the sea.
The waves of the Indian Ocean blow the sea water through a gap in the
natural rock formation at a high pressure periodically, creating a
fountain sometimes more than 100 feet high, with a humming and rumbling
noise. It has been recommended that you can visit the blowhole when the
weather is bad. This is because the pressure is higher when the sea is
rough.
Therefore the effect is more specially during the off-season between
May to September. There is even a special boat ride you can take to view
the blowhole from the sea. The Czech government has been gracious to
give funds to set up a fence around the blow-hole for the safety of
spectators.
Approaching this place, you can find many resident vendors selling
local fruits, thirst quenching drinks and the local favourite, fresh
fried fish. In addition to this, you will also find souvenir shops with
a variety of local handicraft and ornaments made out of sea shells and
other marine findings.
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