Kurunegala ( Sinhala : කුරුණෑගල , Tamil : குருணாகல் ) is a major city in Sri Lanka . It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District . Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end of the 13th century to the start of the 14th century. It is at the junction of several main roads linking to other important parts of the country. It is about 94 kilometres (58 mi) from Colombo , 42 kilometres (26 mi) from Kandy and 51 kilometres (32 mi) from Matale .
29-404: Located at an altitude of 116 metres (381 ft) above sea level, Kurunegala is surrounded by coconut plantations and rubber estates. There are eight very noticeable large rocks that encircle and dominate the city. Kurunegala's rocks rise from the plain below and have characteristic names, six of which come from the animals that they are imagined to represent. The largest among them is Ethagala or
58-576: A mayor with 21 other elected members. The 21 elected members represent the following wards: Kurunegala is a central city in Sri Lanka. It is directly connected to a large number of major cities and towns of the island. Kurunegala can be reached by the railway on the Northern railway line . By road, it is connected to Colombo , Kandy , Matale , Puttalam , Trincomalee , Narammala , Negombo , Anuradhapura and Kegalle . Due to its status as
87-534: A tropical rainforest climate under the Köppen climate classification . The city's climate is tropical and hot all throughout the year. The surrounding rocks play a major role in determining Kurunegala's weather since these rocks increase and retain the heat of the day. During the month of April the temperature can rise up to about 35 °C (95 °F). The only major change in the Kurunegala weather occurs during
116-412: A crossroads city, the city is a good base for exploring important ancient landmarks a short distance away. The Kurunegala central bus stand, opened in 2005, is one of Sri Lanka's most efficient and modern bus stands, with a parking capacity of about 200 buses. Central Expressway Construction Under the directives of MoHEH, RDA has initiated a study to find out a suitable road corridor to construct
145-658: A number of cricketers that represented the nation. One of the best known spin bowlers of all time in Sri Lanka, Rangana Herath is an iconic cricketer from Kurunegala. Ethagala Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 218897081 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:39:27 GMT Tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate
174-517: A part of a doorway. Archaeological remains of this site are few but give a glimpse of its past glory and comprise the handsome stone entrance, steps, rock pillars and ruined walls of the royal palace and the palace of the tooth relic. A large man-made water reservoir constructed by ancient kings. The lake is in the outskirts of the central business district accessible by the Kurunegala- Dambulla and Kurunegala- Puttlam roads. The tank
203-414: A pleasant location with huge rocky outcrops some of which have been given names of the animals they resemble: elephant rock, tortoise rock etc. According to folklore legend, a long time back the city had a severe drought. To exacerbate matters for humans, animals had threatened the city's storage capabilities by consuming huge amounts of water. A witch volunteered to alleviate the problem, transforming some of
232-453: Is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator . There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States, and Okinawa, Japan that fall into the tropical rainforest climate category. They experience high mean annual temperatures, small temperature ranges, and rain that falls throughout the year. Regions with this climate are typically designated Af by
261-544: Is about 2,000 millimetres (79 in). Kurunegala is a Sinhalese majority city; there are sizable communities belonging to other ethnic groups, such as Moors , Tamils , Burghers and Malays . Residents from ethnic minorities live in all parts of the city, however, sizeable communities of Moors and Tamils live in the areas of Teliyagonna and Wilgoda. Source: 2015 Census Data The common languages of Kurunegala, depending on social classes, social circles, and ethnic backgrounds are Sinhalese, Tamil and English . Buddhism
290-492: Is high throughout the months. One day in a tropical rainforest climate can be very similar to the next, while the change in temperature between day and night may be larger than the average change in temperature during the year. When tropical rainforest climates are more dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) than the trade winds (and with no or rare cyclones), so usually located near
319-499: Is the main and the most widely practiced religion in Kurunegala. The town is also home to a wide range of other religious faiths and sects including Hinduism , Christianity and Islam . Prominent Buddhist temples in Kurunegala include Athkanda Raja Maha Viharaya. It is said that the fabled Jathaka stories were composed at this historic temple. The temple is located on the left hand side of the Kandy-Kurunegala main road in
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#1732779566913348-568: Is the only one of that kind in NWP, is situated on the Colombo Kurunegala road about 0.75 k.m. away from the city towards Colombo. Teaching Hospital Kurunegala is one of the largest hospitals in Sri Lanka. The bed count is over 1700 and the staff is over 3500. The hospital spreads over 35 acres land and serves people through more than 100 units. The teaching hospital Kurunegala caters more than 1.2 million patients annually. This number includes
377-509: Is used as a water supply source for the city. The Kurunegala clock tower was built in 1922 as a tribute to the officers, who were from Wayamba province and sacrificed their lives in World War I . Topographically Kurunegala town is based on a plain area with the exception of the surrounding rock outcrops. The northern part of the town is slightly higher than the south. Kurunegala Lake is the primary geographical feature of Kurunegala and adorns
406-406: The Köppen climate classification . A tropical rainforest climate is typically hot, very humid, and wet with no dry season . Tropical rainforests have a type of tropical climate (at least 18 C or 64.4 F in their coldest month) in which there is no dry season —all months have an average precipitation value of at least 60 mm (2.4 in). There are no distinct wet or dry seasons as rainfall
435-569: The " Elephant Rock" (though the translation is actually tusker ), reaches 325 metres (1,066 ft). The shape of Ethagala resembles an elephant . Kurunegala has been named after the Elephant rock (ඇතුගල). "Kurune" means tusker or an elephant with protruding teeth and gala in Sinhala means rock. Kurunai means tusker or an Elephant and gal in Tamil means rock or hill. Kurunegala's old name
464-561: The Kurunegala epoch, the economy then was based on agriculture, trade, and taxes. The king's income primarily came from agricultural produce, with farmers contributing a portion of their harvest, as well as from precious gems such as pearls, moonstones, and blue diamonds. Today, Kurunegala remains an important economic and cultural hub in Sri Lanka. The city's historical legacy of agricultural prosperity and trade continues to influence its modern economic activities, blending tradition with contemporary development. The Teaching Hospital Kurunegala
493-763: The National Apprentice Industrial Training Authority, the Wayamba Technical College, the National Youth Council and the Vocational Training Authority have centres in the city. Most of the private-sector higher educational institutions also have branches in Kurunegala. Major sporting venues in and around Kurunegala include: Kurunegala is one of the outstation cities that is popular for cricket and produced
522-619: The animals magically into stone figures. Kurunegala had a citadel in the 13th century. Its ascendancy as an ancient capital of Sri Lanka began with a series of events that took place during the late 12th century at Yapahuwa. The sacred tooth relic which was in the Yapahuwa Kingdom was taken by an Aryacakravarti from the Jaffna Kingdom to the Pandyan country during the rule of Buwaneka Bahu I from 1272 to 1284. The relic
551-542: The cathedral of the Diocese of Kurunegala , mosques and Hindu temples in the city. The Anglican Bishop of Kurunegala cares for the North-Central Province and Kurunegala, Kandy , Matale , Kegalle and Anuradapura districts. The Kurunegala Municipality Council is responsible for the overall administration, sanitary, welfare, and other general activities of the city. The Municipality Council headed by
580-523: The equator, they are also called equatorial climates. Otherwise, when they are more dominated by the trade winds than the ITCZ, they are called tropical trade-wind climates. In pure equatorial climates, the atmospheric pressure is almost constantly low so the horizontal pressure gradient is low. Consequently, the winds are rare and usually weak (except sea and land breezes in coastal areas) while in tropical trade-wind climates, often located at higher latitudes than
609-667: The expressway from Kadawatha to Dambulla via Kurunegala under Central Expressway Project. The second stage of the construction of the Central Expressway Project (CEP Project-2) from Meerigama to Kurunegala was launched on 2017 February 1. Subsequently, the expressway will cross Gampaha , Meerigama, Kurunegala while ending at Dambulla . The project has been implemented in four stages; from Kadawatha to Mirigama (37 km), Mirigama to Kurunegala (39.28 km), Pothuhera to Galagedara (32.5 km) and Kurunegala to Dambulla (60.3 km). Expressway to Kurunegala
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#1732779566913638-442: The monsoons from May to August and October to January when heavy rains can be expected. While the city does experience noticeably drier weather during January and February, it does not qualify as a true dry season as average precipitation in both months are above 60 millimetres (2 in). In general, temperatures from late November to mid February period are lower than the rest of the year. The average annual rainfall in Kurunegala
667-742: The patients from the other districts also, namely Anuradhapura , Polonnaruwa , Trincomalee , and Mathale . Kurunegala is home to some of the island's oldest and leading schools. The Wayamba University of Sri Lanka is situated in Kuliyapitiya, while the Open University of Sri Lanka , the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology , the National Institute of Business Management , the College of Technology,
696-472: The town. The region comprising the Kurunegala town is well above the sea level compared to the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. However, the region is not as high as the central hill country. The nearest beaches to Kurunegala are to the west and include Negombo and Chilaw . Kurunegala is surrounded by several major rock outcrops, a distinctive geological feature of the Wayamba province. Kurunegala features
725-540: The vicinity of the Kurunegala town, Ibbagala Raja Maha Viharaya, Angangala cave temple, Wilbawa Purana Viharaya and Bauddhaloka Viharaya. An ancient replica of Buddha's footprint that is found on the summit of Sri Pada (Adam's Peak), a little dagoba and some paintings depicting the Buddha and his disciples can be seen at the Ibbagala Raja Maha Viharaya. There are also numbers of churches, including
754-598: Was Hasthishaila-pura , which can be translated as 'The City of the Elephant Rock' in Sanskrit . In some ancient literature, the word Athugal-pura (ඇතුගල්පුර) is employed to describe the city of Kurunegala. Nearby are three archeological cities — Parakramapura (Panduvasnuwara, පඬුවස්නුවර) (northwest) with remains of a moated palace and monasteries from the 12th century, Dambadeniya (දඹදෙනිය) (southwest, mid-13th century) and Yapahuwa (north). Kurunegala enjoys
783-455: Was brought back by King Parakrama Bahu III who ruled from Kurunegala between 1287 and 1293. Over the next half a century Kurunegala was the capital and the governing centre for three other kings of Sri Lanka. After the death of King Parakrama Bahu III, King Buwanekabahu II (1293–1302), followed by Parakramabahu IV (1302–1326), ruled from Kurunegala. The ruler in Kurunegala from 1326 to 1335 was Buwanekabahu III, also known as Wanni Buwanekabahu. He
812-407: Was opened on 15 January 2022. Interchanges from Mirigama are Narammala , Dambokka, Kurunegala and Yaggapitiya. Public transport was launched on 20 January 2022 through expressway. Many major corporations have large branch offices in Kurunegala and many industries including textiles, Sri Lankan gemstones, furniture, information technology, and jewellery are found there. Ancient Economy During
841-618: Was the son of Pandit Parakramabahu II and is believed to be the last king to rule the country from Kurunegala. After the reign of Buwaneka Bahu III, the newly throned king Vijayabahu V ruled from Dambadeniya and Yapahuwa from 1335 to 1341 before once again the kingdom of Sri Lanka shifted to Gampola . Few remains of the Palace of the Tooth relic that housed the tooth of the Buddha have avoided natural destruction, including few stone steps and
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