Badulla

Badulla
Badulla; බදුල්ල; பதுளை
	A view of Badulla town from Cullen Estate
	; Badulla
	Coordinates: 6°59′5″N 81°3′23″E / 6.98472°N 81.05639°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)

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Badulla (Sinhala: බදුල්ල, Tamil: பதுளை), is the capital of Uva Province, Sri Lanka. Badulla 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.

[edit] 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 the base of Sinhalese princes who ruled the area under the king in Kandy before it became part of the British Empire. Later, it became the administrative hub of the British rulers. The city was the end point of upcountry railway line built by the British in order to take plantation products to Colombo.

Badulla is about 230km away from Colombo towards the eastern slopes of 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 Marata, Hambantota, Wellawaya, Ella, Demodara and HaliEla (route A2). All routes are scenic and one can get splendid views of geography 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.

[edit] Tourist Attractions

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.