# Weligama for Digital Nomads

> Surf & guesthouses

Weligama (South Coast), Sri Lanka, Asia

Canonical page: https://nomadbase.com/destinations/weligama
Last reviewed: 2026-08-05

Every figure below carries its source and measurement date. Where no reliable source exists the field is left out rather than estimated.

## Weligama at a glance

Weligama is the surf classroom of the Indian Ocean: a horseshoe bay whose sandbars teach beginners by the hundred, anchoring a south-coast strip with 27 surf spots mapped within 30 km (OpenStreetMap: July 2026, within 30 km) — from whitewater nurseries to the reef points either side. Sri Lanka sweetened the paperwork decisively: the ETA is now free for 40 nationalities (Government sources: since 25 May 2026, checked 2026-07-29) and a genuine digital nomad visa exists (Government sources: checked 2026-07-29), on a coast priced at a national level of 27 against a US benchmark of 100 (World Bank: price level of household consumption, US = 100).

The island terms: no measured internet median (M-Lab: no reliable figure — the guesthouse wifi interview is the process) — fibre reaches the strip unevenly and data is cheap — no month lands in the mild band (Nomadbase comfort index: from 2025 data), and the monsoon geography splits the year: this coast's season runs roughly November to April, after which the island's other side takes over. The wind adds a second sport: 64 kiteable days a year (Copernicus ERA5: peak sustained wind ≥ 25 km/h, 2025).

It suits you if you want warm-water progression, tuk-tuk-scale logistics and guesthouse economics with curd-and-treacle breakfasts. It suits you less if you need urban anything — the strip is villages joined by a coast road, and Colombo is a train ride into another register.

| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 27 surf spots mapped within 30 km (OpenStreetMap: July 2026) — a complete curriculum | No measured internet figure (M-Lab: verify the guesthouse before committing) |
| A free ETA and a real nomad visa (Government sources: checked 2026-07-29) | The season is monsoon-split: this coast peaks November to April |
| National price level 27 (US = 100) (World Bank: guesthouse economics) | The major airport is 112 km of coast road away (OurAirports: nearest major airport) |
| 64 kiteable wind days (Copernicus ERA5: 2025) for the second sport | Tap water is not for drinking (Nomadbase country research: country tap-water tier); the coast road demands respect |

## Key figures

| Figure | Value | Source | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cafés mapped | 74 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Average temperature (year) | 27.5 C | Copernicus ERA5, 2025 annual average | 2025-12-31 |
| Average cloud cover | 74 % | Copernicus ERA5, 2025 annual average | 2025-12-31 |
| Nomadbase climate comfort index | 1.9 index 0-10 | Nomadbase comfort index from Copernicus ERA5 2025 monthly means | 2025-12-31 |
| Coworking spaces mapped | 4 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Average temperature (summer) | 27.7 C | Copernicus ERA5, 2025 summer average (Jun-Aug) | 2025-12-31 |
| Average temperature (winter) | 27 C | Copernicus ERA5, 2025 winter average (Dec-Feb) | 2025-12-31 |
| Rain days per year | 290 days/year | Copernicus ERA5, 2025 full-year count | 2025-12-31 |
| Dry days per year | 75 days/year | Copernicus ERA5, 2025 full-year count | 2025-12-31 |
| Nearest major airport | 112 km | OurAirports — nearest major airport is Colombo Ratmalana International Airport | 2026-07-29 |
| Airports within 100 km | 2 within 100km | OurAirports, major and regional airports with scheduled service | 2026-07-29 |
| Coliving room per month | 737 EUR/month | Published price: Outpost Weligama Bay, private ensuite room from-rate (849 USD), pool and beachfront access incl.; coworking is a paid add-on, checked 2026-08-05 | 2026-08-05 |
| UTC offset | 5.5 hours from UTC | Open-Meteo time zone (Asia/Colombo), standard time | 2026-08-17 |
| Working-hours overlap with Central Europe | 3.5 hours/day | Nomadbase overlap of a 09:00-17:00 day against Open-Meteo time zone (Asia/Colombo), standard time; Europe reference UTC+1 | 2026-08-17 |
| Working-hours overlap with US East | 0 hours/day | Nomadbase overlap of a 09:00-17:00 day against Open-Meteo time zone (Asia/Colombo), standard time; US East reference UTC-5 | 2026-08-17 |
| Yoga studios mapped | 3 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Surf spots mapped nearby | 27 count | OpenStreetMap, within 30km | 2026-08-05 |
| Kitesurf spots mapped nearby | 0 count | OpenStreetMap, within 30km | 2026-08-05 |
| LGBTQ+ legal index (country) | 0 score 0-10 | Nomadbase legal-position rubric (country level), checked 2026-07-29 | 2026-07-29 |
| LGBTQ+ in practice (country) | Penal Code sections 365/365A still criminalise same-sex conduct; convictions are rare but arrests, police harassment and forced examinations are documented. A decriminalisation bill cleared the Supreme Court in 2023 yet remains stalled in parliament as of July 2026; gender marker change has been possible via a Gender Recognition Certificate since 2016. | Nomadbase legal-position rubric (country level), checked 2026-07-29 | 2026-07-29 |
| Tap water in practice (country) | Municipal supply is not reliably potable; visitors should stick to bottled, boiled or filtered water even in Colombo. | Nomadbase tap-water tier (country level), checked 2026-07-29 | 2026-07-29 |
| Gyms mapped | 6 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Vegan-friendly places mapped | 7 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Vegetarian-friendly places mapped | 12 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Kiteable wind days per year | 64 days/year | Days in 2025 with peak sustained wind ≥ 25 km/h (ERA5 via Open-Meteo, 10 m) | 2025-12-31 |
| Visa-free days (EU passport) | 30 days | Editorial visa research, checked 2026-07-29 | 2026-07-29 |
| Visa-free days (US passport) | 30 days | Editorial visa research, checked 2026-07-29 | 2026-07-29 |
| Visa-free days (UK passport) | 30 days | Editorial visa research, checked 2026-07-29 | 2026-07-29 |
| Visa-free days (Canadian passport) | 30 days | Editorial visa research, checked 2026-07-29 | 2026-07-29 |
| Visa-free days (Australian passport) | 30 days | Editorial visa research, checked 2026-07-29 | 2026-07-29 |
| Remote-work visa route (0–10) | 10 score 0-10 | Dedicated remote-work visa: Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) (checked 2026-07-29) | 2026-07-29 |
| Queer venues mapped | 0 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Coworking desk per month | 120 EUR/month | Published price: Outpost Weligama, "Monthly Unlimited" hot-desk pass (137 USD), Operator pricing table verbatim: "Monthly Unlimited / 1 Month / $137 USD" (unlimited hours per calendar month, 10% cafe discount, 16 h private booth). Same table: 2 weeks $74, 1 week $42, 25 hours $38, day pass $11. Single operator, no median: PLAN B publishes only LKR day and hour passes, Hangtime and Ceylon Sliders publish no membership price, and Verse Collective is in Dickwella ~30 km east, so it does not belong in a Weligama basket. Prices are injected client-side — a plain fetch of the page returns empty "$ USD" placeholders. Operator confirms the pass is valid only at the Weligama Bay location., checked 2026-07-30 | 2026-07-30 |
| eSIM data, 30 days | 10.5 EUR | Published price: Airalo Sri Lanka eSIM ("Ella", 10 GB / 30 days), Package slug ella-30days-10gb, published price {"amount":"10.50","formatted":"10.50 €"}. Full fixed ladder: 1 GB/7d 4.50 €, 2 GB/15d 5.50 €, 3 GB/30d 6.00 €, 5 GB/30d 8.50 €, 10 GB/30d 10.50 €, 20 GB/30d 16.50 €. No Unlimited comparison is quoted: the server-rendered payload carried only the Standard packages, and the "unlimited-3gb-fup" strings in the HTML are i18n keys for a fair-usage notice, not products. Country-level price, identical for Arugam Bay., checked 2026-07-30 | 2026-07-30 |
| 3-star hotel per night | 44 EUR/night | Published price: Booking.com, 3-star Weligama, night 12-13 Aug 2026, 2 adults, Median of the first 3 listed, all "Includes taxes and fees": KOMOREBI Weligama EUR 38, Weligama Ocean Breeze EUR 54, Arana Weligama EUR 44. Filter verified as actually applied: 127 properties filtered against 703 unfiltered, and each card renders a 3-star block. Mid-August is OFF/monsoon season on the south coast, so this is a low-season rate — and it still lands above peak-season Arugam Bay, which is why the two towns must not be read as a like-for-like comparison., checked 2026-07-30 | 2026-07-30 |
| Population | 359209 people | National statistics: 359,209 in Six Divisional Secretariat divisions inside the circle: Weligam, Welipitiya, Matara Four Gravets, Thihagoda, Malimbada, Athuraliya (Matara District). census 2024, Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka, Census of Population and Housing 2024. sum of 6: Weligam DSD 76,136 + Matara Four Gravets DSD 123,868 + Welipitiya DSD 55,960 + Malimbada DSD 36,128 + Thihagoda DSD 34,306 + Athuraliya DSD 32,811. scale fit against our 15 km amenity radius: good. chosen over Weligama DS division alone at 76,136 (about 4.5x too small for this circle) and Matara District at 837,889 (about 2.3x too large). The one genuinely awkward case in this set, and a sum was the only honest answer. Weligama DSD alone (76,136) is the smallest unit containing the destination, but the circle also sweeps in the whole small Matara Four Gravets DSD (Matara city, about 11.7 km east) plus Welipitiya, Thihagoda, Malimbada and Athuraliya at 9-11 km — and the amenity count already includes their cafes. Using Weligama DSD alone would have read 74 cafes as 97 per 100k, inflated roughly 4-5x against every other destination in this set. All six figures come from the same official table. Devinuwara DSD (49,274, about 17 km east) was excluded as mostly outside. DCS romanises the division as "Weligam". checked 2026-07-30 | 2024-07-01 |
| Café latte | 2.34 EUR | Published price: Ceylon Sliders, Weligama — own drinks menu, LATTE, before the 10% service charge (900 LKR), Operator's own menu image, linked from their Weligama cafe page. Coffee block exactly as printed: ESPRESSO 600, MACCHIATO 700, CAPPUCCINO 800, LATTE 900, FLAT WHITE 800, AMERICANO 600, ICE COFFEE 900. Menu states "ALL ESPRESSO COFFEES ARE DOUBLE SHOTS AS STANDARD" and "ALL PRICES ARE EXCLUDING 10% SERVICE CHARGE", so the amount actually charged is LKR 990. No currency symbol printed (a Sri Lankan menu, so LKR)., checked 2026-07-30. Converted at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka rate for 2026-07-30 ("Indicative Exchange Rates (LKR per 1 unit of world currencies)", derived from the indicative USD/LKR spot rate, itself "the weighted average rate of all actual USD/LKR Spot transactions executed in the domestic inter-bank foreign exchange market"). ⚠️ A mid, not a transactable side. CBSL separately publishes average commercial-bank telegraphic-transfer rates for the same day — EUR buy 378.1968 / sell 391.5677, a 2.7% total spread — so a visitor funding local spending realises roughly the buy side, about 1.8% below this figure. No parallel or tourist rate. | 2026-07-30 |
| cost food monthly modelled | 135 EUR/month | Modelled groceries for Sri Lanka (country level, not city): Eurostat DE reference 2022 scaled by World Bank price level 27.0 vs 81.2 (2025) and ICP 2021 category structure | 2025-12-31 |
| cost eating out monthly modelled | 23 EUR/month | Modelled eating out for Sri Lanka (country level, not city): Eurostat DE reference 2022 scaled by World Bank price level 27.0 vs 81.2 (2025) and ICP 2021 category structure | 2025-12-31 |
| cost transport monthly modelled | 7 EUR/month | Modelled local transport for Sri Lanka (country level, not city): Eurostat DE reference 2022 scaled by World Bank price level 27.0 vs 81.2 (2025) and ICP 2021 category structure | 2025-12-31 |
| cost leisure monthly modelled | 55 EUR/month | Modelled leisure for Sri Lanka (country level, not city): Eurostat DE reference 2022 scaled by World Bank price level 27.0 vs 81.2 (2025) and ICP 2021 category structure | 2025-12-31 |
| climate monthly profile | [{"m":1,"t":31.8,"r":0.87,"c":0.85},{"m":2,"t":32.7,"r":0.36,"c":0.56},{"m":3,"t":33.3,"r":0.77,"c":0.63},{"m":4,"t":33.6,"r":0.83,"c":0.65},{"m":5,"t":33.1,"r":0.94,"c":0.83},{"m":6,"t":32.2,"r":0.93,"c":0.76},{"m":7,"t":31.3,"r":0.81,"c":0.78},{"m":8,"t":31.2,"r":0.81,"c":0.77},{"m":9,"t":31.7,"r":0.93,"c":0.81},{"m":10,"t":31.8,"r":0.65,"c":0.77},{"m":11,"t":31.2,"r":0.83,"c":0.8},{"m":12,"t":32.3,"r":0.77,"c":0.7}] | Copernicus ERA5, 2025 monthly means (felt temperature, rain-day share, cloud share) | 2025-12-31 |
| Beaches mapped within 30 km | 75 count | OpenStreetMap, within 30km | 2026-07-31 |
| Nature reserves and parks within 30 km | 1 count | OpenStreetMap, within 30km | 2026-07-31 |
| Hiking routes within 30 km | 1 count | OpenStreetMap, within 30km | 2026-07-31 |
| Mapped coastline within 30 km | 29 count | OpenStreetMap, within 30km | 2026-07-31 |
| Hospitals and clinics mapped | 25 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-07-31 |
| Pharmacies mapped | 13 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-07-31 |
| Bars, pubs and clubs mapped | 24 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Vegan share of cafés | 2.7 per 100 restaurants & cafés | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Vegetarian share of cafés | 4.6 per 100 restaurants & cafés | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Tap water index (country) | 4 score 0-10 | Nomadbase tap-water tier (country level), checked 2026-07-29 | 2026-07-29 |
| Country price level (US = 100) | 27 US=100 | World Bank price level index for Sri Lanka, 2025 (US = 100) | 2025-12-31 |
| Restaurants mapped | 188 count | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Nightlife share of cafés | 9.2 per 100 restaurants & cafés | OpenStreetMap, within 15km | 2026-08-05 |
| Air quality PM2.5 (modelled) | 9.1 µg/m³ | Copernicus CAMS via Open-Meteo, modelled 30-day mean | 2026-08-17 |
| Homicide rate (country) | 2.51 per 100k | UNODC intentional homicide rate for Sri Lanka, 2022 | 2022-12-31 |
| Mild months (felt 18–27 °C) | 0 months/year | Nomadbase comfort index from Copernicus ERA5 2025 monthly means | 2025-12-31 |
| English proficiency (EF EPI) | 486 EF EPI score | EF EPI 2025 (country level, transcribed via Wikipedia) | 2025-11-01 |
| Getting by in English (0–10) | 3.44 score 0-10 | EF EPI 2025 (country level, transcribed via Wikipedia) | 2025-11-01 |
| Women, Peace and Security index (country) | 7.43 score 0-10 | Georgetown WPS Index 2023 (country level, transcribed via Wikipedia) | 2023-10-01 |
| Company setup index (country) | 8 score 0-10 | Nomadbase business rubric (country level), checked 2026-07-31 | 2026-07-31 |
| Banking access index (country) | 5.25 score 0-10 | Nomadbase business rubric (country level), checked 2026-07-31 | 2026-07-31 |
| Company setup in practice (country) | The eROC portal registers a private limited company in about a week with no meaningful minimum capital, and most sectors allow full foreign ownership. Some remain restricted or need Board of Investment approval — check the activity before the name reservation, not after. | Nomadbase business rubric (country level), checked 2026-07-31 | 2026-07-31 |
| Banking in practice (country) | A company account follows registration. For a non-resident personally, the Inward Investment Account is the mechanism that makes foreign capital movable again later; opening one without it is the mistake to avoid. | Nomadbase business rubric (country level), checked 2026-07-31 | 2026-07-31 |

## Scores (0–10, blend of public data and community reports)

| Category | Score | Public data | Community | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cost | 9.34 | 9.34 | — | 0 |
| fun | 2.39 | 2.39 | — | 0 |
| safety | 4.33 | 4.33 | — | 0 |
| climate | 4.97 | 4.97 | — | 0 |
| amenity | 4.9 | 4.9 | — | 0 |
| vegan | 6.27 | 6.27 | — | 0 |
| lgbtq | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| water | 4 | 4 | — | 0 |
| flights | 0.54 | 0.54 | — | 0 |
| visa | 5.33 | 5.33 | — | 0 |
| lifestyle | 4.36 | 4.36 | — | 0 |
| vegetarian | 7.75 | 7.75 | — | 0 |
| nightlife | 2.5 | 2.5 | — | 0 |
| nature | 4.89 | 4.89 | — | 0 |
| health | 1.37 | 1.37 | — | 0 |
| locals | 3.44 | 3.44 | — | 0 |
| business | 6.63 | 6.63 | — | 0 |
| women | 7.43 | 7.43 | — | 0 |

## Visa & entry (Sri Lanka)

Everyone still needs an ETA before flying, but since 25 May 2026 it is free for 40 nationalities — 30 days, double entry. And Sri Lanka quietly became a real nomad option: a Digital Nomad Visa launched in early 2026 — one year for US$500, renewable, against US$2,000 a month in foreign income.

### How long you can stay

⚠️ **This just changed.** Since **25 May 2026** the tourist ETA is **free for 40 nationalities** — including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Czechia, the Nordics, Switzerland, UK, US, Canada and Australia. You still apply at **eta.gov.lk** before travel; only the fee is gone. Fees paid earlier are not refunded.

- The free ETA gives **30 days, double entry** from first arrival. Not every EU passport is on the list (Portugal and Ireland, for instance, are not) — those pay the standard **US$50** (SAARC nationals US$20).
- Staying past 30 days means a paid extension at the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Colombo — budget the normal visa fee and a half-day of queueing.
- Use only eta.gov.lk. Copycat "ETA" sites charging triple are an industry here.

### The Digital Nomad Visa, if you are staying properly

- Launched in **early 2026** — an official residence-visa category, not a proposal.
- **One year**, renewable annually.
- **US$2,000 a month** minimum income remittance for the main applicant — a flat figure set by the Department, pegged to no index — plus **US$500 a month** for each dependant beyond two. Ignore blog posts claiming a US$1,500 threshold or a five-year track; the official notice says neither.
- Fee: **US$500 per person per year** — spouse and each dependant pay the same again.
- Paper-heavy application to the Department's **Residence Visa Division**: police clearance (under three months old), medical clearance, security form, international health insurance, and a recommendation from the Ministry of Digital Economy.
- The catch nobody expects: **renewal requires proof of Sri Lankan tax registration** with the Inland Revenue Department — year two makes you visible to the tax system.
- No local income allowed; in exchange you can open bank accounts, sign leases and enrol children in school.

> Visa rules change frequently. This information was last checked on 2026-07-29. It is not legal advice — confirm with the official source before booking: https://www.eta.gov.lk/slvisa/

## Living in Weligama

### Where to stay

**Weligama town** wraps the teaching bay with guesthouses and board racks; **Midigama** and **Ahangama** westward are the reef-break villages where the long-stayers thin out the beginners; **Mirissa** eastward adds the whale-and-nightlife economy. Inland paddy-edge villas trade sea proximity for space and birdsong. The strip logic is simple: base near your level's wave, and the tuk-tuk covers the rest.

### Finding a place

Guesthouse monthly rates negotiate warmly, villa shares circulate through the strip's Facebook groups, and the season's arithmetic is steep — December books out by October, while May-to-September prices collapse with the swell direction. The wifi interview is the real viewing: speed-test at the desk, ask about outage habits, and check the mosquito screening plus the generator question with equal seriousness.

### Working from here

Cafés with sockets and intent line the strip, a few small coworks anchor Ahangama's scene, and the working stack is data-heavy by design — local SIMs are cheap and the hotspot is the true backup. The time zone gifts European clients your afternoon. The daily shape follows the water: dawn session, worked middle, golden-hour reprise.

### Getting around

Tuk-tuks are the system — hail, agree, go — with scooter rentals for the independent (the coast road's bus-and-dog slalom asks for real attention) and the coastal train as transport-as-poetry toward Galle or Colombo. Nothing on the strip is far; everything off it is an adventure by design.

### Money

Cash from the town ATMs runs the guesthouse economy; cards work at the newer cafés with a small-surcharge shrug. The rupee arithmetic keeps daily life gentle — rice-and-curry lunches, fruit-stand economics — with imported comforts carrying island premiums.

### Staying safe

The strip is gentle: petty theft is occasional (guesthouse safes and beach-bag rotation cover it), harassment is low-key by regional standards, and the social register is village-warm. The risk ledger is elemental — the coast road's traffic at dusk, rips outside the teaching bay when the swell runs, reef cuts as the local tattoo, and the monsoon sea that closes swimming with intent. Dogs escort rather than threaten; snakes prefer the paddies to the strip.

### Seasons

This coast's year peaks November to April: offshore mornings, dry heat, the strip at full occupancy. May turns the wind and sea as the southwest monsoon arrives — swimming closes, many businesses hibernate, and the island's east coast (Arugam Bay's season) inherits the surf crowd. The green months here are quiet, wet in passages and deeply local. The smart calendar rides both coasts; the settled one embraces the hush.

### Meeting people

The surf schools and cafés operate as the social sorting machine, and the strip's scale makes faces familiar within days. The community mixes progression-focused stayers, kite people waiting on wind, and a Sri Lankan hosting culture whose generosity outpaces its margins — learning names and eating where the families cook converts commerce into welcome. Colombo's professional scene exists as a separate, train-linked world.

### Staying active

Surf progression is the town's core product — sandbar hours by the hundred, then the reef graduation at Lazy Left and Coconuts, coaches and video review on tap. The counterweights: yoga decks over the paddies, a growing kite scene when the wind bands align, jungle-and-lake cycling inland, and swimming confined wisely to the bay's gentle half. Rest days trend toward whale boats and waterfall hunts.

### Time off

Galle Fort's ramparts make the classic evening an hour west; Mirissa's whales run in season; the tea country at Ella is the train-ride pilgrimage every stay eventually takes. Yala's leopards and the south's lagoon safaris fill long weekends, and Colombo bookends arrivals. The island is compact enough that everything famous is a weekend, which is precisely the island's trap and gift.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does it cost to live in Weligama per month?

Between €968 and €1,060 a month, housing and everyday spending together. Housing is a coliving room at €737. Everyday spending — food, local transport, leisure — is modelled from national price levels rather than measured in the city, so it is an indication and not a quote. A coworking desk is extra at €120. Every figure carries its source on the destination page.

### What visa do I need for Weligama?

Everyone still needs an ETA before flying, but since 25 May 2026 it is free for 40 nationalities — 30 days, double entry. And Sri Lanka quietly became a real nomad option: a Digital Nomad Visa launched in early 2026 — one year for US$500, renewable, against US$2,000 a month in foreign income. Last checked 2026-07-29. Always confirm with the official source before booking.

### What is the weather like in Weligama?

Winters average 27 °C and summers 27.7 °C. 0 of 12 months average a comfortable 18–27 °C (felt temperature). Source: Copernicus ERA5, 2025 annual average.

### Can I work European or US hours from Weligama?

A 09:00–17:00 working day in Weligama overlaps 3.5 hours with Central European time and 0 hours with US Eastern time, at standard time.

### Are there coworking spaces in Weligama?

4 coworking spaces are mapped in Weligama, plus 74 cafés to work from. Source: OpenStreetMap, within 15km. Counts are a floor, not a census — coverage depends on local mappers.

### How do you get to Weligama?

The nearest major airport is about 112 km away. 2 airports with scheduled service within 100 km. Source: OurAirports — nearest major airport is Colombo Ratmalana International Airport.

## Sources

- **OpenStreetMap** (ODbL) — Community-mapped places: coworking, cafés, gyms and diet options within 15km. Counts are a floor rather than a census — coverage depends on local mappers. https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright
- **Copernicus ERA5** (Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information) — ECMWF’s ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through Open-Meteo. Temperatures, rainfall, cloud cover and wind are daily values for the last complete calendar year. https://open-meteo.com/
- **Nomadbase comfort index** — Our own reading of ERA5 data, not a measurement: a month-by-month score for how comfortable the felt temperature is, damped for rain and cloud. The formula is published. https://nomadbase.com/destinations#how-we-score
- **OurAirports** (Public domain) — Airport locations and types. Distances are to the nearest major airport with scheduled service. https://ourairports.com/
- **Published prices** — Prices read by hand from the operator’s or authority’s own published price list — a transit tariff, a coworking rate card, an eSIM store — on the date shown. Checked quarterly; the linked page is the source. https://nomadbase.com/destinations#how-we-score
- **Nomadbase country research** — Hand-maintained country tables for the LGBTQ+ legal position and tap-water safety, compiled from advocacy databases (ILGA World, Human Dignity Trust), national authorities and government travel advice, and scored with a published rubric. Country-level by nature — city reality can differ, which is what the practical note is for. https://nomadbase.com/destinations#how-we-score
- **Government sources** — Visa and entry rules come from the responsible authority for each country, linked in the visa section and re-checked by hand on the date shown.
- **National statistics offices** — Resident population read by hand from the responsible census or statistics authority — the figure that turns a raw count of workspaces or cafés into a per-100k comparison. The unit is named next to the number, because it has to match the 15 km radius our amenity counts use: for a beach town that is a district, for a lake it is a group of municipios. https://nomadbase.com/destinations#how-we-score
- **World Bank** (CC BY 4.0) — Price level of household consumption at market exchange rates (US = 100) — a national figure that anchors the cost score where no city-level source exists yet. It measures what arriving with foreign income feels like, which is why a weak currency lowers it. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PRVT.PLI
- **Copernicus CAMS** (© ECMWF/Copernicus) — Modelled air quality, used only where no ground station exists. A 40km model cell, not a measurement on the corner — the page says which of the two you are looking at. https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/
- **UNODC** (Free with attribution) — Intentional homicide rate from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime — a national figure, because no free source measures crime per city. The year next to the number is the year the country last reported. https://dataunodc.un.org/

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