A Sunset for Every Evening

Sri Lanka''s west and south coasts face the right way for sunsets, and the island puts on a different one every night. After a while you start planning your evenings around them.

On the south coast, the headland at Mirissa and the rocks below Galle''s ramparts both deliver. Further up the west coast, the long flat beaches at Bentota and Negombo turn the whole sky to copper and rose. Order a king coconut, find a spot on the sand, and don''t check the time.

The trick is simply to be there — sandy, unhurried, and facing west — when the light goes.