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 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 ...

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 Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language prima ...

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

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

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. 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 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 wh ...

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 f ...

, 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 fo ...

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

Notable people

* Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera

References

External links

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