Badulla

Not to be confused with Badula.

Badulla බදුල්ල பதுளை
A view of Badulla town from Cullen Estate
Badulla
Coordinates: 6°59′5″N 81°3′23″E
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Uva Province
District	Badulla
DS Division
Government
• Mayor
Area
• Total	2,861 km2 (1,104.6 sq mi)
• Land	2,827 km2 (1,091.5 sq mi)
• Water	34 km2 (13.1 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	780,000
• Density	276/km2 (714.8/sq mi)
Time zone	Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone (UTC+5:30)

Badulla (Sinhala: බදුල්ල, Tamil: பதுளை), is the capital of Uva Province, Sri Lanka. 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 town 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 town 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 (முத்தைய்யன் கணை)(Buddhist) temple, Dhowa temple, Bogoda ancient wooden bridge and Buddhist temple. The Muthiyangana temple is located in one end of the Badulla town, 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 Rawana water fall in Ella.

Demographics

Ethnicity	Population	% Of Total
Sinhalese	29,961	73.22
Sri Lankan Moors	5,519	13.49
Sri Lankan Tamils	2,717	6.64
Indian Tamils	1,989	4.86
Other (including Burgher, Malay)	735	1.80
Total	40,920	100

Badulla

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  "Tea" For which Badulla is famous for...

• 

  Driving to Badulla on Raja Mawatha

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  Badulla Railway station.

See also

• List of cities in Sri Lanka
• List of Archaeological Protected Monuments in Sri Lanka
• Provincial General Hospital - Badulla

Maps

• Detailed map of Badulla vicinity and Sri Lanka

External links

• Office of the Governor - Uva / ඌව පලාත් ආණ්ඩුකාරවර කාර්යාලය
• Provincial General Hospital - Badulla / පළාත් මහ රෝහල - බදුල්ල
• A school in Badulla District
• Badulla