Meet the amazing Sea Turtles at Hikkaduwa Beach!
Sri Lanka has some great beaches and Hikkaduwa Beach is definitely one of the most beautiful and special!
Because here you can not only find clear water, a beautiful landscape and wide, flat beaches but also real sea turtles to marvel at!
Hikkaduwa Beach is a beach like you would imagine it to be. It stretches for several kilometers and invites you to swim, snorkel or surf. The waves are, depending on the section, quite flat and calm or offer the optimal conditions for surfing. The impressive coral reef and the clear water are ideal to snorkel in peace and observe the diverse underwater world. At the edge of the beach there are always palm trees, which create a real vacation atmosphere. And of course, palm tree swings are not to be missed.
At the moment, unfortunately, it is only the beach and nature that make Hikkaduwa Beach so special. Due to Covid-19, the numerous restaurants, beach bars or small stores on the beach are unfortunately mostly closed and some will probably not be able to open anymore, because the pandemic has taken them too much. You can only imagine what it would look like away from Corona. Some of the buildings are unfortunately completely destroyed and look anything but inviting.
We originally came here not because of the Hikkaduwa Beaches, but because of a restaurant recommendation. Since still only a few restaurants are open — and the selection is therefore rather small — we drive meanwhile also always new destinations, in the hope to discover perhaps still another open restaurant.
Since I had already seen some pictures and also articles about the Hikkaduwa Beach, we left a little earlier to be able to look at the beach in peace. We took a tuktuk from Galle to Hikkaduwa in about 30 minutes and were dropped off somewhere on the beach. We saved our actual destination — the Ranjiith Cafe — in Maps and then walked in that direction.
The Hikkaduwa Beach
At the beach we were really impressed. Blue, clear water with white waves. A real dream beach! In addition, there is a large, shallow beach section and also in the water it goes very shallow and slowly deeper and deeper. At other beaches — like Sugar Beach in Mount Lavinia or also Unawatuna Beach — there are sections that are very steep, so it is very difficult to walk along the beach. Here, that is absolutely no problem.
There are some Sri Lankans on the beach who go out with their boats, just sit on the beach and relax and every now and then you see a fisherman or angler. As so often we are an attraction as tourists and are marveled at from all sides. Yes of course, so with Corona there are unfortunately hardly any tourists. And I say unfortunately because Sri Lanka is very dependent on tourism. The tourism industry is one of the biggest sources of income in the country, which is now suffering a lot for a long time.
As already mentioned, the beauty is currently limited to nature but it is all the more impressive. I think I have hardly seen a more beautiful beach. I could sit here for hours, look out to sea and watch the waves. But since we have a goal, we walk along the beach further and further. Behind every curve we pass is another great and fascinating section of beach. Hikkaduwa Beach is simply beautiful!
Very close to the sea turtles
There is a section of Hikkaduwa Beach where the beach forms a kind of point into the sea. There the water is especially shallow and the waves are very calm and flat. It is said that you can see sea turtles at this spot. Probably you can recognize this place by the fact that enthusiastic people are cavorting close to the water and all have their cell phones or cameras in their hands. At least that’s how we became aware of the turtles.
Already a few minutes before we were pointed out by a local that a little further down the beach there are also turtles and we should look at them. Therefore, we already knew approximately where we had to go. When we arrived there, it was actually impossible to miss. Two families were standing with their feet in the water and everyone had their cell phones pointed at the water. We were led the last few feet to the turtles by another Sri Lankan.
If I hadn’t known there were supposed to be turtles there, I probably would have just mistaken them for dark, round, large rocks in the water. Somehow I thought they were small turtles but these ones are really really big and resemble a rock. They are actually not that easy to find if you don’t know what to look for.
The locals lured the two big turtles in the water to the beach by seaweed or algae and then also put some of this green stuff in my hand. They told me to feed the turtles with it and thus lure them even closer to shore. At first I was a bit skeptical but after several requests from the locals I finally went into the water with the kelp to feed one of the turtles. This also reacted immediately to the food and snatched cautiously after it.
Unfortunately I can’t think of another description, because snatching sounds rather hectic, but she was really very careful.
So I stood virtually from now on next to a huge, wild green sea turtle in the shallow water and am this feeding. It is so incredibly impressive and fascinating to be so close to these calm, relaxed creatures. The turtles seem to be familiar with humans and you don’t have to worry about them snapping at you. They are only interested in the kelp and even at this they are very careful. You can touch them on the shell, look at them up close and have a unique moment with them.
I don’t even remember how long I was crouching there in the water with the turtle, because it captivated me so much. Simply indescribable and so breathtaking. That I will once be with a wild turtle on the beach, touch it and even feed it — I would NEVER have expected. And Marc is also more than impressed. This experience simply flashes in a very special way! Wow!
No restaurant but unique memories
At some point we were able to tear ourselves away from these fascinating sea turtles and walked even further down the beach. As the sun continues to set, we walk towards the restaurant. As impressive and beautiful as Hikkaduwa Beach is during the day, it becomes even more beautiful and romantic at sunset when the sky turns pink and red. It is once again a completely different picture than during the day.
The only disadvantage at Hikkaduwa Beach is that you can’t always go back to the street. The houses, closed restaurants or even hotels are just lined up and often they are wall to wall, so we had to walk a few minutes further along the beach than we wanted to. The restaurant we are heading for is located on the street and so we have to get on the street first. Finally, we got on the road at a resort and could even wash off our sandy feet there briefly.
On the road we then had to walk back a few meters and that is already a real thrill. The Sri Lankans drive without any rules and sometimes very close to other vehicles but also people. We are now times not used to it and thus one frightens oneself fast, if a Tuktuk races hair-sharply past one.
Unfortunately, the cafe in which we wanted then closed. The owner explained to us that it is not worthwhile to open at the moment, because there are hardly any guests and even fewer tourists. They do not know yet when they will open again and hope for relaxations to the entry conditions. Since we had also discovered no other restaurants, we finally waved a tuktuk and drove back to Galle, where we then ended the evening with a delicious pizza.
