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.Coral reefHikkaduwa coral reef is a typical shallow fringing reef with an average depth of around. The coral reef reduces the coastal erosion and forms a natural breakwater. The coast of the national park extends four km. Generally the coast is narrow, ranging from 5–50 m according to the climatic conditions of the year. Scuba diving is a popular recreation here.Physical featuresThe national park situated in the wet zone and receives a of annual rainfall. The rain is received in both southewestern and northeastern monsoon seasons, in April–June and September–November respectively. Inter-monsoon season is a dry period which is considered the best season to visit the park. The temperature of the water ranges from 28.0°-30.0°C while the mean annual temperature is 27°C of the atmosphere.
