Badulla

Not to be confused with Badula.
Badulla
බදුල්ල
City
City of Badulla

A view of Badulla town from Cullen Estate
Badulla
Coordinates: 6°59′5″N 81°3′23″E / 6.98472°N 81.05639°ECoordinates: 6°59′5″N 81°3′23″E / 6.98472°N 81.05639°E
Country Sri Lanka
Province Uva Province
District Badulla
Government
 • Type Municipal Council
Area
 • Total 10 km2 (4 sq mi)
Elevation 680 m (2,230 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 47,587
 • Density 4,387/km2 (11,360/sq mi)
Demonym Badullians
Time zone Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone (UTC+5:30)

Badulla (Sinhalese: බදුල්ල, Tamil: பதுளை), is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province, Sri Lanka and the Badulla District. Badulla is located 60 km southeast of Kandy, almost encircled by the Badulu Oya (River), about 680 metres (2200 ft) above sea level and is surrounded by picturesque hills and mountains, most of which have tea plantations.

Geography

It is located on the southeast of Kandy, almost encircled by the Badulu Oya River, about 680 metres (2200 ft) above sea level and is surrounded by tea plantations. The city is overshadowed by the Namunukula range of mountains (highest peak 2,016 metres above sea level). It was a base of a pre-colonial Sinhalese local prince (regional king) who ruled the area under the main King in Kandy before it became part of the British Empire. Later, it became one of the provincial administrative hubs of the British rulers. The city was the end point of upcountry railway line built by the British in order to take mainly tea plantation products to Colombo.

Badulla is about 230 km away from Colombo towards the eastern slopes of the central hills of Sri Lanka. There are multiple routes to Badulla from Colombo, Kandy and Galle. From Colombo, one can travel via Ratnapura, Balangoda, Haputale, Bandarawela and HaliEla along A4 and A16 to Badulla which may take about 5–6 hours. From Kandy there are two routes. Either via "Victoria-Randenigala Raja Mawatha" or via Nuwara Eliya (route A5). From Galle, the best route is via Matara, Hambantota, Wellawaya, Ella, Demodara and HaliEla (route A2). All routes are scenic and one can get splendid views of geography which changes while travelling. Badulla and surroundings are highly recommended for eco-tourists as Horton Plains National Park and the Knuckles mountains are few hours away.

Tourist attractions

Located at the northern city limit of Badulla city is Dunhinda waterfall. Dunhinda waterfall is one of the most popular waterfalls of Sri Lanka mentioned on several famous songs and works of literature which draws many local and foreign tourists to the region.

The main heritage sites in and around Badulla are ancient Muthiyangana (මුතියංගන රජ මහා විහාරය/முத்தைய்யன் கணை)(Buddhist) temple, Dhowa temple, Bogoda ancient wooden bridge and Buddhist temple. The Muthiyangana temple is located in one end of the Badulla city, Dhova ancient temple is located by Badulla-Bandarawela road whereas Bogoda Wooden Bridge and temple is close to Hali-ela town.

Ancient Rawana buddhist temple also famous among the tourists who visit Ravana water fall in Ella.

Demographics

EthnicityPopulation[1]% Of Total
Sinhalese29,96173.22
Sri Lankan Moors5,51913.49
Sri Lankan Tamils2,7176.64
Indian Tamils1,9894.86
Other (including Burgher, Malay)7351.80
Total 40,920100

Badulla is an ancient city situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. Badulla is a multinational city with the ancient Muthiyangana Temple situated in its heart. The city is emerging as a well developed city in Sri Lanka with a state of the art provincial hospital and many more developments. In the 20th century Badulla was a regional hub for the British rulers. They made Badulla the capital of Uva Wellassa now known as the Uva Province. Even today there are some British colonial buildings in Badulla. The Badulla train station is one such example. It is the last train station in one of the main train lines in Sri Lanka the Upcountry train line this train line was used by the British to send tea collected from the Badulla district to Colombo. Badulla district is one of the leading tea producing districts only behind Nuwara-Eliya district.

See also

References

  1. ↑

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Badulla.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Badulla.