Hikkaduwa resort is a long stretch of beach having a wide range of restaurants serving fresh seafood, souvenir shops, guesthouses and many hotels - from the cheap and cheerful to star-class. You will not find any other resort on the island like Hikkaduwa and it’s the only place that can boast of some of the best surfing waves in Sri Lanka.
In the mid 19th century, ‘picnic parties’ were regularly held in Hikkaduwa and it became a stopping place for the Galle to Colombo stagecoach. The influx of foreigners began in the 1960s, when American and Australian surfers discovered the waves at Hikkaduwa. Thereafter the town became a surfing paradise for surfers and other water sport lovers.
The best period for surfing at Hikkaduwa is from November to April, as it is for diving and snorkelling, because of good visibility. Snorkelling in the shallow waters 200m off shore is possible. A number of wreck dives can be observed, including the Shell-owned SS Conch, the world’s first oil tanker, sunk in 1903. Divers may find the corals are dead in some places, but they can still come across a number of brightly-coloured fish a few metres above. Tourists can also opt for glass-bottomed boat rides.
There are many jewellery shops and souvenir shops with items such as masks, puppets, musical instruments, batiks and paintings. Jewellery is of the more understated silver type with beautiful semi-precious stones.
The other places of interest to visit in Hikkaduwa are the Gangarama Maha Viharaya with paintings depicting scenes from the life of the Buddha; the Dodanduwa Lagoon and Telwatte Bird Sanctuary which provide a wealth of fauna, flora and spectacular scenery. From there, only 9km inland from Hikkaduwa, you will enter a totally different world - the tea plantations.
