Badulla

The historic provincial capital of Uva, ringed by tea hills and home to ancient temples, colonial landmarks and the bridal-veil Dunhinda Falls.

Overview

Badulla is the capital and largest city of Uva Province, set in a bowl of tea-covered hills at the eastern end of the hill-country railway. It is an old, unhurried town centred on the sacred Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara and a British-era clock tower, and serves as the gateway to the Dunhinda Falls and the ancient Bogoda wooden bridge. Less touristed than nearby Ella, it offers an authentic taste of highland provincial life.

History

Badulla is one of the oldest towns in Sri Lanka, mentioned in ancient chronicles and long associated with the Muthiyangana temple, one of the island's sixteen most sacred Buddhist sites. It was an important outpost during the Kandyan Kingdom and later became a colonial administrative and tea-trading centre under the British, who marked the terminus of the Uva railway here.