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Badulla

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Not to be confused with Badula.
Badulla
බදුල්ල
City
City of Badulla
Badulla clock tower
Badulla clock tower
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceUva Province
DistrictBadulla
Government
 • TypeMunicipal Council
Area
 • Total10 km2 (4 sq mi)
Elevation
680 m (2,230 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total47,587
 • Density4,387/km2 (11,360/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone)

Badulla (Sinhala: බදුල්ල, Template:Lang-ta) is a major city situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District.

Geography

Badulla is located in 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 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 see splendid views of the geography, which changes while travelling. Badulla and its surroundings are highly recommended for eco-tourists as Horton Plains National Park and the Knuckles mountains are a few hours away.

History and present day

In the 20th century Badulla was a regional hub for the British rulers. They made it the capital of Uva Wellassa, now known as the Uva Province. Even today there are some British colonial buildings in the city. 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 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 the Nuwara-Eliya district.

Badulla is a multinational city with the ancient Muthiyangana Temple situated in its heart. The Catholic Church has a diocese headquartered here. It is emerging as a well developed city in Sri Lanka with a state of the art provincial hospital and many more developments.

Tourist attractions

  • Muthiyangana temple is an ancient Buddhist temple located in the middle of Badulla. It is regarded as one of the Solosmasthana, the sixteen sacred places in Sri Lanka, believed by Buddhists to have been visited by Gautama Buddha.
  • Badulla Kataragama Devalaya is an ancient devalaya, situated in Badulla town. It is one of shrines dedicated to Sinhalese deity Kataragama deviyo.
  • Old Welekade Market is an historic colonial building, situated in middle of the Badulla town. It was built in 1889 by British.
  • Dunhinda Falls, a 64 metres (210 ft) high waterfall, is located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Badulla. This is one of the most popular waterfalls of Sri Lanka, mentioned in several famous songs and works of literature. It draws many local and foreign tourists to the region.
  • Bogoda ancient wooden bridge is one of the oldest surviving wooden bridges in the country (being over 400 years old) and is located 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of Badulla, close to the town of Hali-ela.
  • Demodara railway station is between Ella and Udoowara railway stations. Demodara railway station is famous because the railway turns from the platform, and then goes under the railway station in the tunnel.
  • St Mark's Church, built in memory of Major Thomas William Rogers, Assistant Government Agent of Uva Province, who died 7 June 1845 after being struck by lightning at the Sherwood Estate in Haputale. It was the first church to be consecrated (25 April 1857) by the first Bishop of Colombo Rev. James Chapman.

Demographics

Ethnicity Population[1] % 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
  • Tea, for which Badulla is famous
    Tea, for which Badulla is famous
  • Driving to Badulla on Raja Mawatha
    Driving to Badulla on Raja Mawatha
  • Badulla railway station
    Badulla railway station
  • Street scene
    Street scene

See also

References

  1. ^ [1] Archived September 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Badulla.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Badulla".
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