Badulla

Badulla බදුල්ල
City
City of Badulla
Badulla clock tower
Badulla
Coordinates: 6°59′5″N 81°3′23″E / 6.98472°N 81.05639°E / 6.98472; 81.05639Coordinates: 6°59′5″N 81°3′23″E / 6.98472°N 81.05639°E / 6.98472; 81.05639
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)
Time zone	Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone (UTC+5:30)

Badulla (Sinhalese: බදුල්ල, Tamil: பதுளை) 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.

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.

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.