Sri Lanka's moonstone mine in Meetiyagoda

The Meetiyagoda moonstone mine is situated in the hinterland of Sri Lanka's southwestern beach resorts Hikkaduwa and Ambalangoda. A visit is also easily managable as a half-day excursion from other coastal towns between Galle in the south and Bentota or Beruwela in the north. Actually, trips to Meetiyagoda, also combined with otherr nearby destinations such as Madhu Ganga wetlands are quite popular with holiday makers who spend some days or weeks in beach resorts of this region.

Guided tours in Meetiyagoda include a short walk to the shaft of the mine, where you can also study the filtering process, and then to the workshop and showrooms. You can study the filtering. The promotion slogan "the world's only moonstone mine" is a little bit misleading. Moonstones are found on all continents. The classic finding place in ancient Europe was the area of St. Gotthard in Switzerland. Today, Europe's richest moonstone mines are in Poland and Scandinavia. Most moonstones are from Mynamar and India. But Sri Lanka's moonstone - mostly from Meetiyagoda - have a reputation of being among the finest, although the quality of the finds has been decreasing for several years. Myanmar's and Sri Lanka's moonstones are those of the highest value due to their uniquely intense blue sheen. But the blue-shining moonstones have become even rarer in Myanmar than in Sri Lanka in recent decades. This is why claiming to be the world's only moonstone mine has some justification, as Meetiyagoda is the only remaining mine for moonstones with the highly attractive blue sheen.

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