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D Main Post Office ( map p 99 ; Baddegama Rd) A
five-minute walk inland from the bus station.
Tourist Police Station ( map p 99 ; %227 5554;
g alle Rd; h24hr) At the southeastern end of
the tourist strip, although not all the police
here speak English – which rather defeats the
purpose of the place!
8 Getting There & Away
BUS
There are frequent buses from Colombo (nor-
mal/luxury Rs 127/190, three hours). Buses also
operate frequently to galle (Rs 37, 30 minutes).
Buses to galle or beyond will drop you south of
the bus station along the guesthouse strip. When
leaving Hikkaduwa, your chances of getting a
seat are best if you start at the bus station.CAR
There are two roads connecting Hikkaduwa with
Galle and Colombo. The old Colombo–Galle road
runs right through the middle of Hikkaduwa.
Travelling along this road to central Colombotakes at least three hours and you should allow
four or five hours to get to the airport (at quiet
times you can do it faster than this). galle is 30
minutes away. It’s not worth taking the Southern
Expressway (the toll road running 15 minutes
inland from the coast) to galle, but you can shave
a great chunk of time off the journey taking it to
the southern edge of Colombo. There is talk of a
new bypass being built around Hikkaduwa.TRAIN
The trains can get very crowded; avoid the really
slow ones that stop everywhere. Check at the
station for express departure times. Service on
the coast line is fairly frequent; destinations in-
clude Colombo (2nd/3rd class Rs 160/85, two to
three hours), galle (2nd/3rd class Rs 40/20, 30
minutes) and beyond to matara. Air-conditioned
carriages are available on some trains with the
price a fixed Rs 1000 to anywhere along the line.8 Getting Around
A three-wheeler from the train or bus stations to
Wewala or Narigama costs about Rs 150.AMBALANGODA & THE DEVIL MASK MUSEUMS
Ambalangoda is a sweaty, workaday town, which is completely overshadowed by nearby
Hikkaduwa as a tourist destination. The main reason for visiting – and it’s a good one –
is to dig under the surface of the Sri Lankan souvenir scene and discover the magical
meanings behind the ubiquitous ‘devil’ masks. Genuine devil dances, which drive out
spirits causing illness, still occur irregularly in the hinterland villages.
Ambalangoda is on the main transport route between Colombo and Hikkaduwa and
buses and trains are frequent.
Ariyapala Mask Museum (%091-225 8373; http://www.masksariyapalasl.com; 426 main St;
h8.30am-5.30pm) The Ariyapala Mask Museum, with its dioramas and explanations in
English, gives an excellent insight into Sri Lankan masks and the meanings behind them.
It also sells the booklet The Ambalangoda Mask Museum, a useful publication if you
want to delve into the mysterious world of dance, legend and exorcism, and the psychol-
ogy behind the masks.
Ariyapala Traditional Masks (%091-493 3319; 432 galle Rd; h8.30am-5.30pm) Ariya-
pala Traditional Masks has a small museum and a shop selling utterly captivating pieces.
Bandu Wijesooriya Dance Academy (%091-225 8948; http://www.mask.lk; 1st fl, 426 Main
St) The Bandu Wijesooriya Dance Academy teaches the southern forms of traditional Sri
Lankan dance such as kolam (masked dance-drama), Kandyan and Sabaragamu. Offi-
cially dance courses last a year but it’s often possible for foreigners to arrange shorter
one-on-one courses.