Meetiyagoda moonstone mines - tourist trap?
My driver offered to take me to a moonstone mine near Hikkaduwa. Is this a genuine experience or just a high-pressure sales scam?
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3 Answers from travellers
It is interesting to see the traditional mining shafts and the washing process, but the shop at the end is heavily overpriced. Go for the educational tour, but buy your gems from a certified NGJA jeweler in Colombo instead.
I bought a silver ring there. It was more about the experience of buying it at the source. You can haggle them down about 40% from their initial asking price.
The "mining" demonstration felt a bit staged to me, like they just churned the same bucket of mud for every tourist that walked in.
Scam Watch: galle
Someone befriends you and offers a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to buy gems at wholesale prices and resell them abroad for huge profit. They may show you fake export certificates. The gems are worthless glass or low-quality stones.
Restaurants without visible prices. Bill arrives with inflated charges (500 LKR coconut becomes 1500 LKR). "Service charges" added without disclosure.
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