According to wholevehicles, Hikkaduwa is a popular resort with a developed infrastructure, located 120 km south of the capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo. Hikkaduwa is famous for its beach and is considered the best dive resort on the island. Another attraction is the Coral Reserve, which is located a few hundred meters from the coast. About 70 varieties of multi-colored corals grow here. The resort itself stretches along the beach, and it’s hard to tell exactly where it ends, and its busy coastal main road leading to Colombo only adds to the town’s visitors.
Meanwhile, the recent history of Hikkaduwa is rather sad. In 2004, there was a powerful tsunami here, and many local residents lost all their property in it. As compensation, they received… sewing machines. Therefore, now in the economic sense, Hikkaduwa is one big tailor-made atelier.
2 things to do in Hikkaduwa:
- Go swimming with turtles: you can touch them, feed them kelp and even ride on the back of a particularly patient individual.
- To master the intricacies of riding a bodysurf – a small wide board, on which they lie down with their whole body and, having caught a wave, accelerate with their feet. You can tame this device in half an hour.
How to get there
Most taxis in Hikkaduwa are minibuses for 8 people, so the fare is relatively low. For example, a trip to Galle will cost 1500 LKR, Colombo – 2500-3000 LKR. There are buses and trains to the resort from Colombo and Galle:
In addition, there is a daily express from Kandy: 2nd class – 430 LKR, travel time 6 hours.
Hotels
Tourists have to choose between two large hotels or settle in a small family hotel, designed for 10-15 rooms, the strip of which stretches along the ocean coast.
Entertainment and attractions of Hikkaduwa
Take a look at the wholesale fish market, or “fish market”, located on the shore of an artificial harbor. Typically, trading starts at 5:00, and by 9:00 restaurants are buying up good goods. If you want to not only eat fish, but also catch it, take a walk to the village of Dodanduwa near the center. There is a small fishing harbor, you can hire a catamaran and go fishing for tuna or barracuda for two or three hours in the morning or evening.
At any restaurant, you can treat yourself to fresh lobster or giant jumbo shrimp. It is good to wash down the dish with cold Sri Lankan beer “Leon”.
Tired of boat trips, you can visit the city Buddhist temple or sit on the lake, chosen by birds, or go to a bar or to a local disco.
Active holidays in Hikkaduwa
Hikkaduwa is an ideal place for those who try their hand at diving for the first time. There is something for the curious diver to see: not far from the beach, the water hides the remains of several wrecks, including the British ship Earl of Shaftsbury, lying at depths of 12 to 21 m, into which you can swim. Another interesting wreck is the shell-covered tanker SS Conch, which sank in 1903. The coral reef is located 50 m from the coast and stretches along it for about 300 m. Its average depth is 2 m.
The diving season here lasts from November to April. Diving depth – from 4 to 40 m, distance from the coast – from 15 minutes to an hour on a boat.
For those who are afraid to dive, they offer a boat trip on a glass bottom boat.
Surfing is a great opportunity to see the landscapes of this resort. On the south coast of Sri Lanka, this is one of the best places for boarding. The tide line on the local beaches moves twice a day by 10-15 meters. The sand on the south coast of the island is coarse. The water temperature from October to March fluctuates around +24…+28 °C. The air warms up to +30…+35 °C.
The best time for swimming is early morning, half an hour before sunrise, when the air is fresh, saturated with iodine, and the surrounding silence creates the feeling of a virgin desert paradise.
