Hikkaduwa is a small town on the south coast of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

located in the Southern Province, about north-west of Galle and south of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Etymology

The name Hikkaduwa is thought to have been derived from the two words ''Sip Kaduwa'', with ''Sip (සිප්)'' being the shorter version of ''Shilpaya'' which refers to knowledge in Sinhalese and ''Kaduwa(කඩුව)'' which means sword. It is believed therefore that the name Hikkaduwa means ''sword of knowledge''. Alternatively it means coral or seashell jungle.

Transport

Hikkaduwa is located on the

Coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

or Southern Rail Line (connecting

through to Matara). It is also located on the A2 highway, connecting

Wellawaya Wellawaya ( si, වැල්ලවාය, translit=Vællavāya; ta, வெல்லவாய, translit=Vellavāyā) is a town located in Monaragala District, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. History On 25 August 1630 a major battle took place near We ...

, which runs mostly parallel to the shore, through the town.

Economy

Hikkaduwa's economy was traditionally based on fishing and coconut cultivation. This was replaced by tourism when its golden sandy beaches were discovered. It is a well-known international destination for board-surfing. The town was featured in an episode of Anthony Bourdain's television show '' No Reservations''. Hikkaduwa was affected by the

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

caused by the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern ...

along with nearby villages Telwatta, Paraliya (site of the

Queen of the Sea rail disaster The 2004 Sri Lanka tsunami train wreck is the largest single rail disaster in world history by death toll, with 1,700 fatalities or more. It occurred when a crowded passenger train was destroyed on a coastal railway in Sri Lanka by a tsunami whi ...

Dodanduwa Dodanduwa is a small coastal town situated in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The town is located approximately north of Galle and south of Colombo. Prior to the Second World War, Dodanduwa was known as the commercial centre ...

, Kahawa and

Rathgama Rathgama is a small coastal town situated in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Etymology The village is also known 'Rajgama', which means kings village. The village was gifted by Parākramabāhu II to Minister Devapathiraja for ...

. In the aftermath of the tsunami, many of the families who had lost everything were given

sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with Thread (yarn), thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. ...

s as part of the relief operations. As a result, the town has a multitude of tailors who will custom make shirts, trousers, and shorts.

Attractions

* Hikkaduwa beach - reputed as the second best surfing spot in Sri Lanka. * Hikkaduwa Coral Sanctuary - located a few hundred metres offshore. The sanctuary has approximately seventy varieties of multi-coloured

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...

Notable people

Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera ( si, හික්කඩුවේ ශ්‍රි සුමංගල නාහිමි; 20 January 1827 – 29 April 1911) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, who was one of the pioneers of Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalis ...

References

External links

Populated places in Galle District Populated places in Southern Province, Sri Lanka Seaside resorts in Sri Lanka {{SouthernLK-geo-stub