Hikkaduwa Hotels
About Hikkaduwa
Hikkaduwa is a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka. It is located in the Southern Province, about 17 km north-west of Galle and approximately 100km south of the country's capital, Colombo. Hikkaduwa is famous for its beach, surfing, corals sanctuary, scuba diving sites, and vibrant night life.
Eating and Drinking in Hikkaduwa
There are a number of restaurants located in Hikkaduwa, providing a vast range of foods. A sample of venues includes;
• Blue Moon Restaurant: A romantic, two-storey beachside restaurant just south of the main surf break serves great food and has amazing sea views.
• The Spaghetti Restaurant: Serves traditional Italian food and delicious oven-baked Italian pizzas.
• Roti No. 1: A great place to sample rotis - a favourite local snack. Incredibly good value.
• Roger's Garage: Very reasonably priced food served in a relaxed bar, where there are pool tables, board games and play nightly movies.
• Neela's: Nice reliable, value for money.
• The Nature Resort Floating Restaurant: Just a few kilometres inland from Hikkaduwa. Eat a freshly-caught crab meal as you enjoy a lakeside sunset or take a few drinks with you and go for a slow trip around the lake on a floating pontoon!
• The Refresh Restaurant: Right on the beachside, a popular restaurant that serves a very wide variety of food.
Night Life in Hikkaduwa
Hikkaduwa has a number of popular beachside nightclubs, that also become the focus of a lot of daytime surfer activity.
• Mambos
• Top Secret
• Why Not
• Vibrations
Beach Activities at Hikkaduwa
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.
Swimming
The sea currents around Hikkaduwa can be very strong and can make swimming quite dangerous at times. Parents with young children should be particularly aware of this. Fortunately, Villa Hikkaduwa is located onto a safe beach for swimming in the sea, or you could take a trip to the Coral Sanctuary at Hikkaduwa or go down the coast to Unawatuna instead.
Diving
Hikkaduwa has diverse range of diving spots near by 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 Sri Lankan 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 renowned 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 are 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 Sunday Market
The Sunday market is a fantastic way to see Hikkaduwa's local life come alive along with fresh produce and local delicacy. This is a not to be missed activity, held every Sunday in Hikkaduwa town this market is bustling with activity and a really enjoyable outing.
________________________________________
About Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a South Asian island nation, located off the southern coast of India, in the vicinity of the Maldives. It is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Until 1972 it was known as Ceylon and has also been attributed with the title "The Pearl of the Indian Ocean"
Sri Lanka is famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts, rubber and cinnamon (which is native to the country).
The island is laden with lush tropical forests, white beaches and diverse landscapes with rich biodiversity. The country lays claim to a long and colorful history of over three thousand years, having one of the longest documented histories in the world. Sri Lanka's rich culture can be attributed to the many different communities on the island.
The climate of Sri Lanka can be described as tropical and warm. Located within the northern tropics, this endows the country with a warm climate moderated by ocean winds and considerable moisture. The mean temperature ranges from about 16°C in the Central Highlands, where frost may occur for several days in the winter, to a maximum of approximately 33°C in other low-altitude areas. The average yearly temperature ranges from 28°C to nearly 31°C. May, the hottest period, precedes the summer monsoon rains. January has the coldest days.
The currency is the Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) and Sri Lanka's Standard Time Zone is UTC+5:30.
Sri Lanka has a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. Buddhism constitutes the religious faith of about 70% of the island's population. Hinduism the second most prevalent religion in Sri Lanka, followed by Islam and Christianity.
Sinhalese and Tamil are the two official languages of Sri Lanka, with English is fluently spoken by a significant portion of the population.
The New York Times ranked Sri Lanka as the" Number 1 in 31 places to go in 2010".
