Hikkaduwa City

Hikkaduwa is a seaside resort town in southwestern Sri Lanka. It’s known for its strong surf and beaches, including palm-dotted Hikkaduwa Beach, lined with restaurants and bars. The shallow waters opposite Hikkaduwa Beach shelter the Hikkaduwa National Park, which is a coral sanctuary and home to marine turtles and exotic fish. Inland, Gangarama Maha Vihara is a Buddhist temple decorated with hand-painted murals.

 

Hikkaduwa Beach

In 1940, the Hikkaduwa Rocky Islets were declared sanctuaries and was limited to the land boundaries of these rocky islets. In 1998 it was upgraded to the status of a nature reserve and later to a national park. The famed Coral Gardens and Telwatte Bird Sanctuary are the main attractions of Hikkaduwe which lies 98km from Colombo.Foreign and local tourist come to see the famous “coral gardens” of Hikkaduwe, for the tourist who doesn’t like to get their feet wet glass bottom boats are available while others snorkel to reach them which are filled with brightly coloured corals and marine life.

Hikkaduwa is also featured on TripAdvisor, Viator and GetYourGuide

About Galle District

Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from ColomboGalle is the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and Southeast Asia, showing the interaction between European architectural styles and south Asian traditions. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers.

Galle is a sizeable town, by Sri Lankan standards, and has a population of 91,000, the majority of whom are of Sinhalese ethnicity. There is also a large Sri Lankan Moor minority, particularly in the fort area, which descend from Arab merchants that settled in the ancient port of Galle.

About Southern Province

The Southern Province of Sri Lanka is a small geographic area consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Subsistence farming and fishing is the main source of income for the vast majority of the people of this region.

Important landmarks of the Southern Province include the wildlife sanctuaries of  the Yala and Udawalawe National Parks, the holy city of Kataragama, and the ancient cities of Tissamaharama, Kirinda and Galle. (Although Galle is an ancient city, almost nothing survives from before the Portuguese invasion.) During the Portuguese period there were two famous Sinhalese poets called Andare who was from Dickwella and Gajaman Nona who was from Denipitiya in Matara District, composing poems on common man.