Most visited Tourism Destinations places in Sri Lanka - 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.Hikkaduwa coral reef is a typical shallow fringing reef with an average depth of around 5 meters (16 ft). The coral reef reduces the coastal erosion and forms a natural breakwater. The coast of the national park extends four km. Generally, the coast is narrow, ranging from 5–50 m according to the climatic conditions of the year. Scuba diving is a popular recreation here.