Meetiyagoda Moonstone Mines: Visit Guide, No.7 & Taxi Fares

At the moonstone mines of Meetiyagoda you can stand over a gem shaft, watch the gravel being washed, and then hold the stones that came out of it. Meetiyagoda is a village a few kilometres inland from the coast between Ambalangoda and Hikkaduwa, in the Galle District. Most commercial moonstone in the world today comes from Sri Lanka, and this is where visitors to the south-west coast go to see it. Our pick is Moonstone Gems No.7, a licensed mine and showroom on Batapola Road. Every photo on this page is our own, taken there.

How moonstone is mined at Meetiyagoda

The mine at No.7 sits in a village garden under tiled-roof sheds. Each shed covers a narrow shaft lined with square timber frames that hold the walls up all the way down to the gem-bearing gravel; a lamp lights the shaft so you can look down. Above the shaft a heavy log winch, turned by hand, brings the gravel up in baskets.

At the surface the gravel is piled beside the shaft and then washed in a shallow pit with a woven basket, swirled until the lighter earth runs off and the heavier stones are left behind. The stones are sorted by hand into clay bowls, and the best are cut and polished on a wheel in the workshop yard. It is simple, slow work, done the way it has been for generations.

What is moonstone?

Moonstone is a feldspar — a sodium potassium aluminium silicate — and its name comes from the soft, moving sheen that seems to float under the surface. That glow is called adularescence: light scatters between very thin alternating layers inside the stone, so a good moonstone shows a milky or bluish light that shifts as you turn it. Moonstone is one of the birthstones for June.

Moonstone is found in several countries, from India and Myanmar to Madagascar, Norway and the United States, but most commercial moonstone today comes from Sri Lanka. Britannica points to the Dumbara area in the central hills as a classic source; Meetiyagoda, on the south-west coast, is the one visitors can see in person, and the Gemological Institute of America holds a moonstone from Meetiyagoda in its reference collection. So when you hear that Meetiyagoda is "the world's only moonstone mine", treat it as a sales line — but it is a genuine, working source of the stone.

Moonstone Gems No.7 — our pick

You will pass several moonstone shops along Batapola Road. We take our guests to Moonstone Gems No.7 — signposted simply "No.7" — because it shows the whole process in one place: the shafts and washing pit in the garden, the rough stones and cutting wheel in the yard, and a bright, organised showroom. It is also properly licensed: "New Moonstone Gems – No 07", Batapola Road, Meetiyagoda, is on the National Gem and Jewellery Authority's 2024 list of licensed jewellery dealers (licence 20241JL5804), and a Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority certificate made out to the shop hangs on the showroom wall.

Inside, the counters start with bowls of rough stones, so you can see what comes out of the ground, then move to loose cut moonstones and other gems, and a long jewellery room of rings, pendants and necklaces. There is cinnamon, small bottles of oil and the odd carved elephant too. There is off-road parking, so your TaxiGo driver waits on site. The phone number on the NGJA list is 071 170 4159.

Buying moonstone with confidence

Nearby: the tsunami memorial at Peraliya and Ambalangoda

Six kilometres from the mine, by the coast road at Peraliya, stands the Tsunami Honganji Viharaya. On 26 December 2004 the tsunami struck the crowded Matara Express train here — the largest rail disaster in history, with an estimated 900 to 1,700 deaths. The 30-metre Buddha statue, donated by Japan and modelled on the Bamiyan Buddha, was built in their memory. It is a short, quiet stop on the way to or from Hikkaduwa.

In the other direction, Ambalangoda (about 9 km) is famous for its hand-carved traditional masks — you will see one on the shelf at No.7. More on the area in our Hikkaduwa guide.

Taxi fares to the Meetiyagoda moonstone mine

Fixed prices to Moonstone Gems No.7, per vehicle, including the driver and fuel. Tap a route for its booking page — the fare there is the same. Distances are measured by road (how we measure).

Taxi fares from the moonstone mine

Carrying on after your visit? These are the fares from No.7 to the memorial at Peraliya, the beaches and the airport.

Why travellers book TaxiGo for the moonstone mine

• Fixed price for the whole vehicle — no meter, no haggling on the roadside.
• We take you to No.7, the shop you asked for — not a stop of the driver's choosing.
• Your driver waits in the shop's car park, then takes you on to Galle, Bentota, Colombo or the airport.
• Measured distances and live fares — the price on this page is the price you book.
• Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup (policy) and WhatsApp support.

More on this coast: Hikkaduwa taxi rates · Galle taxi rates · Bentota taxi rates · Galle Fort guide · Brief Garden · Kande Viharaya, Aluthgama.

Frequently asked questions