Kegalle is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Sabaragamuwa Province The Sabaragamuwa Province ( si, සබරගමුව පළාත ''Sabaragamuwa Paḷāta'', ta, சபரகமுவ மாகாணம் ''Sabaragamuwa Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrati ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. It is one of 25 districts of

, the second level

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. It was a former Dissavani of Sri Lanka. It covers an area of . The district has a population of 837,179 according to 2012 Census, which is approximately 4.0% of the total population of Sri Lanka.

Physical information

The District of Kegalle is situated in between the central highlands and western southern plains and has an enchanting environment. The height of the western region is above sea level while the eastern region exceeds . Rubber cultivation has stretched over most of the area of the District and minor export crops from the district include coffee, cocoa, pepper, clove and nutmeg. Sri Lanka's best graphite mine is situated at Bogala in Kegalle District. The extent of the District is .

Major cities

Kegalle Kegalle ( si, කෑගල්ල; ta, கேகாலை) is a large town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo–Kandy road, approximately from Colombo and from Kandy. It is the main town in the Kegalle District ...

(Urban Council)

Other towns

Ambepussa Ambepussa is a town in the Kegalle District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. History The Ambepussa railway station, was the terminus station for the first rail passenger service, a ten-carriage train which departed Colombo Fort railway st ...

Aranayaka Aranayaka ( si, අරණායක) is a town in the Kegalle District of Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka. Its agricultural economy revolves around local rubber, tea, banana and mahogany plantations. The Mawanella-Aranayaka-Horawella Road (Hi ...

* Bulathkohupitiya * Dehiovita *

Deraniyagala Deraniyagala is a town in the Kegalle district in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Deraniyaga city area consists major government administrative offices, textile industries and transportation hub and the district hospital which has seve ...

* Galigamuwa *

Hemmathagama Hemmathagama is a small town in the district of Kegalle in Sabaragamuwa province of Sri Lanka. Hemmathagama is connected to A1 highway by B279 road. People As per the census of 2012, population of the town and surrounding area is 29537. The inhab ...

* Karawanella *

Kitulgala Kitulgala is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka. The Academy Award-winning ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' was filmed on the Kelani River near Kitulgala, although nothing remains now except the concrete foundations for the bridge. Kitulgala i ...

* Kotiyakumbura *

Mawanella Mawanella is a town which belongs to the Kegalle district in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It lies between Kegalle and Kadugannawa along the Colombo-Kandy road. The area consists of four administrative areas, namely Mawanella, Aranayak ...

Rambukkana Rambukkana, Pradeshiya Sabha, lies within the Kegalle district in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. The Council was incorporated on 7 July 1991 as Rambukkana ward and a few small towns. The constituency today has an area of 128.8 square km, wit ...

* Ruwanwella * Thalgaspitiya *

Warakapola Warakapola ( si, වරකාපොල; ta, வரகாபொல) is a town in Kegalle District, Sri Lanka. It is located from Kandy, and from Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு ...

Yatiyanthota Yatiyanthota is a town in Kegalle District, in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly kno ...

* Ganthuna

Demographics

Ethnic distribution (2001 census)

Most of the population are

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

. Indian Tamils brought by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

as indentured labourers to work in tea states makes a significant minority.

Religious groups (2011 census)

Land usage

Notable places

Situated between coastal lowlands and central highlands district has a contrasting landscape.

Elephant Orphanage of Pinnawala

Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage ( si, පින්නවල අලි අනාථාගාරය), is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, northeast of Kegalle town in Sabara ...

of Pinnawala attracts thousands of tourists daily.

References

Districts of Sri Lanka {{SabaragamuwaLK-geo-stub