Snorkeling in Hikkaduwa — Sri Lanka
Out of hundreds of locations to visit in Sri Lanka, Hikkaduwa beach is certainty one place you must visit. It has something to offer for everyone such as snorkeling in deep and shallow sea, enjoying sea bath, and cuddling with sea turtles. If you ask me, out of which snorkeling is the best. if your are into snorkeling doesn’t matter whether you are a pro or not, you can do it here. Of course, most of the reef is dead but still there is a lot of vibrant fish to see and if you are lucky enough you can even see the octopus. The entire reef is in shallow sea, so you don’t have to worry much about drowning. Also reef starts right from the beach, so you can see a lot of fish right at the tip of the beach too.
Snorkeling Gears
I like to carry my own but if you want, there are plenty of places to rent gears for very reasonable price. They have everything from mask, snorkel, fins, life-jackets, etc. In addition to gears, some of them offer changing rooms with basic facilities.
Changing Rooms and Lockers
That is the next big problem, right. Again, there are plenty of places to rent rooms. We rented a room right in front of the beach for 4000 rupees for four people. The room included parking, air-conditioning, hot-water, etc except for lockers. But not having lockers was not an issue as I carried the room key with me while snorkeling. I used a neck-strap for this :).
Coral Reef
Sadly, as I mentioned earlier, coral reef is dead and has started to recover . But still there is plenty of vibrant sea creatures to see. Best of all is, you don’t have to be a pro to explore the reef, all you need is a bit of courage as the reef is in shallow sea. Following, is a quick look into the reef,
Best Time to Visit
November to March is the best time period to visit Hikkaduwa. Time? well, anytime is okay. But Hakkaduwa beach usually gets crowded. So, the earlier, the better. Also, make sure to choose a sunny day instead of a gloomy day. Because the more you have sunlight, the more you can clearly see.
Apart from Snorkeling
If you have friends who cannot really muster up courage to explore the reef, they can simply snorkel at the tip of the beach and still see fish. Of course not as much as others can see but still there is something to see.
If you have friends, who don’t want to do snorkeling at all for some weird reason, they can just have a sea bath right next to the reef and then cuddle with the sea turtles, who are on the other side of the beach.
Also, you can do diving too.
Don’t Dos
Please don’t take polythene to the beach and pollute the beach. Also, most importantly don’t step on the coral reef as it would hinder the growth of the reef. Apparently and sadly, most of the locals tend to walk on it :(
