Hikkaduwa is located 100km south of the country's capital, Colombo. The area is well-known for its coral sanctuary and the proximity of wonderful scuba diving sites to explore. With its unique beach culture, Hikkaduwa has long been the most popular diving and surfing area in Sri Lanka. In the centre of Hikkaduwa, a lagoon also creates a beautiful and safe snorkelling area. Further south, where the currents are stronger, surfing is the dominant water activity. The impressive coral reef runs just offshore and is populated by exotic fish and sea turtles that come ashore on this beach to lay their eggs.
It was affected by the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Villages affected were Telwatta, Paraliya (Queen of the Sea rail disaster), Dodanduwa, Kahawa, Rathgama. The place is on the way from Colombo to Galle on the famous Galle road. It is primarily a tourist destination, and serves as a great beach with options to surf, snorkel and enjoy the sun. The town is arranged around the one main road which runs from Galle to Colombo. This road is extremely heavily trafficked and pedestrians and tourists are advised to exercise caution when crossing.
Swimming
Warning: The sea currents directly in front of
the beach house can be very strong and make swimming quite dangerous at
times. Parents with young children should be particularly mindful of
this. Better to just have a paddle or sit back and enjoy the impressive
crashing waves at the beach house instead and, if you want to go
swimming in the sea, take a trip to the Coral Sanctuary at Hikkaduwa or
go down the coast to Unawatuna instead.
Diving
The diving at Hikkaduwa
is diverse and there is an abundance of marine life and dive sites to
suit all levels of experience. Big groupers, barracudas, moray eels,
dogtooth tunas, manta rays, lobsters & turtles are often to be seen
just off the coast at Hikkaduwa.
A large number of wrecks have floundered off the coast in this area
over the years, adding to the range of dive sites available. The diving
season in the south west runs from November to April and there are a
number of well-established diving centres from which to choose with Blue Deep being one of the best!
Surfing
Hikkaduwa
is a very well known surfing destination on the international circuit
and annually attracts surfers from all over the world. There are plenty
of good surfing points and although most of them are reef breaks, none
of them is risky since they all have a flat deep bottom. The wave size
ranges up to 3 metres during the season. The main point, known as the main reef has 'A-frame' shaped waves, which can be surfed in both directions.
Hikkaduwa National Park
Hikkaduwa National Park is one of the two marine national parks in Sri Lanka. The national park contains a fringing coral reef of high degree of biodiversity. The area was declared a wildlife sanctuary on May 18, 1979, and then on August 14, 1988, upgraded to a nature reserve with extended land area. The growth of the number of visitors in the next 25 years increased the degradation of the coral reef. To reduce the effects to the ecosystem, the reef was declared a national park on September 19, 2002.
Source - Click Here 2. Pigeon Island Marine National Park, Nilaveli
View Larger Map