Hikkaduwa

Located on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, Hikkaduwa is quite a busy seaside area waiting to impress the myriad of tourists flocking the beaches to witness the amazing collection of coral reefs. The famed Coral Gardens and Telwatte Bird Sanctuary are among the greatest allures in Hikkaduwa. The suburban neighbour of Beruwela and Bentota, two of the seaside cities with a collection of luxury resorts and business clutter in the southern part of Sri Lanka, Hikkaduwa is ideal for a quiet holiday.

With accommodation provided in a few luxury hotels and mostly, in family-run guest houses, Hikkaduwa is renowned for its scuba diving, snorkelling and surfing as well. The gorgeous and magnificent Coral Gardens of Hikkaduwa, thus named because of its vast expanse of bright and colourful corals, reef fish and other sea creatures, is just 200 metres from the beach side. Tourists are allowed to snorkel around the corals to experience this magical beauty and for those preferring to stay above the water, glass-bottomed boats are readily available to visit this area.

Telwatte Bird Sanctuary, the next most frequented attraction in Hikkaduwa, has a wealth of waterfowl and shorebirds. The small lakeshore park area is located along the coastal highway, in the inland area.