HOME
*





Hikkaduwa
Hikkaduwa is a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka located in the Southern Province, about north-west of Galle and south of Colombo. 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 or Southern Rail Line (connecting Colombo through to Matara). It is also located on the A2 highway, connecting Colombo to Wellawaya, 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 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Hikkaduwa National Park
Hikkaduwa National Park is one of the three 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 reef Hikkaduwa coral reef is a typical shallow fringing reef A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reef. It is distinguished from the other main types, barrier reefs and atolls, in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone (lagoon) or none at all. If a fringing reef grows direc ... with an average depth of around . The coral reef reduces the coastal erosion and forms a natural Breakwater (structure), breakwater. The coast of the national park ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

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 revivalist movement in the 19th century. He did a great service to improve the Buddhist Education in the country and was the founder of Vidyodaya Pirivena, Maligakanda in 1873 which was granted the university status later in 1959 by the Government of Sri Lanka. A veteran author and a fiery orator, he was a major figure in the Panadurawadaya, a religious debate held between Christian missionaries and Buddhist monks in 1873 at Panadura, Sri Lanka. He was well versed in Sinhala, Pali, Sanskrit, English, Buddhism, History, Arithmetic, and Archaeology and was one of the primary sources of information on Buddhism for the success of the Panadura debate. Biography The birth name of Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera was Don Niculus Gunawardhana. He was born on ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Galle District
Galle ( si, ගාල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''gālla distrikkaya''; ta, காலி மாவட்டம் ''Kāli māvattam'') is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. Geological background Its area is : is water and is land. Galle District bounded on the north by Benthara river, south and west by the Indian Ocean and east by Matara and Ratnapura districts. The topography of Galle District is very much dissent. The climatic condition of Hiniduma Patthuwa is very similar to the central hill country of Sri Lanka. This area consists of rainforests, which is the water catchment area for most of the rivers and lakes flows across Galle District. Sinharaja Forest Reserve is on ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

A2 Highway (Sri Lanka)
The A 2 is an A-Grade road in Sri Lanka. It connects Colombo and Wellawaya via Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Route Colombo to Galle The west-coast portion of the highway consists of the Galle Road. Within Colombo, the A2 serves as a north–south backbone to the city. It is split into two one-way streets from Colombo Fort to Wellawatte, in order to ease traffic flow. The highway passes through Wellawatte, Ratmalana, Kalutara, Wadduwa, Maggona, Beruwala, Bentota, Panadura, Kosgoda, Ambalangoda, Hikkaduwa, and Galle. At Galle, the highway runs through the city centre before continuing towards Hambantota. Galle to Hambantota From Galle, the highway continues east along the south coast towards Ahangama. It passes Unawatuna, Koggala, Ahangama and Weligama, before arriving at Matara. At Matara, it passes the University of Ruhuna. The highway continues towards Dikwella, Tangalle, Ambalantota, and Hambantota. To cross the artificial harbour at Hambantota, a ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Southern Province, Sri Lanka
The Southern Province ( si, දකුණු පළාත ''Dakuṇu Paḷāta'', ta, தென் மாகாணம் ''Theṉ Mākāṇam'') of Sri Lanka is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. It is the 7th largest province by area and is home to 2.5 million people, the 3rd most populated province. The province is bordered by Sabaragamuwa Province and Uva Province to the North, Eastern Province to the Northeast, Western Province to the Northwest and the Indian Ocean to the South, West and East. The Province's capital is Galle. The Southern Province is a geographic area consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Subsistence farming and fishing is the main source of income for the vast majority of the people of t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Unawatuna
Unawatuna is a coastal town in Galle district of Sri Lanka. Unawatuna is a major tourist attraction in Sri Lanka and known for its beach and corals. It is a suburb of Galle, about southeast to the city center and approximately south of Colombo. Unawatuna is situated at an elevation of above the sea level. Despite significant development in the last decade it is still home to the endangered and endemic purple-faced langur, an usually shy monkey species that can only be found in Sri Lanka's forests. Mythical roots From Ramayana The description of the beach paradises in Valmiki's epic Ramayana sounds like Unawatuna. :"a seashore dotted with thousands of trees, coconuts, and palms dominating, strings of houses and hermitages along the coastline, human beings and superior beings such as Gandharvas, Siddhas, and ascetics, living in them and countless bejewelled celestial nymphs thronging the shore, the coast intermittently visited by heavenly beings, Gods and demons.": Unawat ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Southern Province (Sri Lanka)
The Southern Province ( si, දකුණු පළාත ''Dakuṇu Paḷāta'', ta, தென் மாகாணம் ''Theṉ Mākāṇam'') of Sri Lanka is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. It is the 7th largest province by area and is home to 2.5 million people, the 3rd most populated province. The province is bordered by Sabaragamuwa Province and Uva Province to the North, Eastern Province to the Northeast, Western Province to the Northwest and the Indian Ocean to the South, West and East. The Province's capital is Galle. The Southern Province is a geographic area consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Subsistence farming and fishing is the main source of income for the vast majority of the people of th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Galle
Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gimhathiththa'' before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Ibn Batuta, a Moroccan Berber Muslim traveller in the 14th century, referred to it as ''Qali''. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, during the Dutch colonial period. Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by the Portuguese in South and Southeast Asia, showing the interaction between Portuguese architectural styles and native traditions. The city was extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and is the largest remaining fortress i ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




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 which followed the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The tsunami subsequently caused over 30,000 reported deaths and billions of rupees in property damage in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. Train Train # ''Matara Express'' was a regular train operating between the cities of Colombo and Galle. The route runs along the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, and at Telwatta, only about inland from the sea. On Sunday, 26 December 2004, during both the Buddhist full moon holiday and the Christmas holiday weekend, it left Colombo's Fort Station shortly after 6:50 A.M. with over 1,500 paid passengers and an unknown number of unpaid passengers including the ones with travel passes (called Seasons) and government travel permits. The train was pulled by l ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Effect Of The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake On Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka was one of the countries struck by the tsunami resulting from the Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26, 2004. On January 3, 2005, Sri Lankan authorities reported 30,000+ confirmed deaths. Many of the dead were adults and the elderly. The south and east coasts were worst hit. One and a half million people were displaced from their homes. The death toll continued to rise as the threat of infectious diseases breaking out turned into a reality, with doctors confirming first cases of cholera. Tsunami and immediate effects In the eastern Sri Lankan Ampara District alone, more than 10,000 people died. A holiday train, the " Queen of the Sea", was struck by the tsunami near the village of Telwatta as it travelled between Colombo and Galle carrying at least 1,700 passengers, killing all but a handful on board. About 8,000 more dead were counted in the northeast region, which was controlled by the Tamil Tiger. At Trincomalee in the northeast, where the tsunami reached mo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

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 explosions (including detonations, landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances) above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. Unlike normal ocean waves, which are generated by wind, or tides, which are in turn generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water from a large event. Tsunami waves do not resemble normal undersea currents or sea waves because their wavelength is far longer. Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide. For this reason, it is often referred to as a tidal wave, although this usage is not favoured by the scientific community because it might g ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Populated Places In Galle District
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a census, a process of collecting, analysing, compiling, and publishing data regarding a population. Perspectives of various disciplines Social sciences In sociology and population geography, population refers to a group of human beings with some predefined criterion in common, such as location, race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. Demography is a social science which entails the statistical study of populations. Ecology In ecology, a population is a group of organisms of the same species who inhabit the same particular geographical area and are capable of interbreeding. The area of a sexual population is the area where inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with in ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]