Talawakelle ( si, තලවාකැලේ, ta, தலவாக்கலை) is a town in Nuwara Eliya District in the

Central Province, Sri Lanka The Central Province ( si, මධ්‍යම පළාත ''Madhyama Paḷāta'', ta, மத்திய மாகாணம் ''Madhdhiya Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of th ...

, governed by an

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

. It is the center of Dimbula tea planting district, the largest tea growing area in Sri Lanka.

Cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

: p. 133 It is situated on A7 Colombo-Nuwara Eliya highway. The altitude of Talawakelle is . Talawakelle railway station is one of the major stops of Udarata (Sinhala "Hill Country") or Main railway line. The town is administrated by Talawakelle-Lindula urban council. Located in the

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...

railway line, and Avissawella - Nuware Eliya main Road (A7) the town serves as a gateway to Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka, Nuwara Eliya and tourists.

Climate

The mean annual temperature is around 18°C in the area and this climate is described as the perfect "tea-climate".

Demography

Majority of the population of Talawakelle is Indian Tamils who are workers of neighboring tea estates. The town considered the focal point of Indian Tamil politics in Sri Lanka. Small portion of

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 ...

also live in the town.

Main schools

Schools in Talawakelle are part of the Nuwara-Eliya school district. * Talawakelle Tamil Maha Vidyalayam - Tamil Medium * Sumana Secondary School is a provincial school for grades 6 through 13. It has an Advanced Science track. Instruction is done in both Sinhala and English. * St. Patrick's College, Talawakelle - Tamil Medium

Visitor attractions

There are two waterfalls situated around Talawakelle area. Both the waterfalls formed by

Kothmale Oya The Kotmale River ( si, කොත්මලේ ඔය ) is the longest tributary of Mahaweli River. The river begins as the Agra Oya, in the Horton Plains. The Central Plains have an annual rainfall of between 125 and 200 inches a year. The river ...

, which runs through the town. *

Devon Falls Devon Falls, known as the 'Veil of the Valley', is a waterfall in Sri Lanka, situated west of Talawakele, Nuwara Eliya District on the A7 highway. The falls is named after a pioneer English coffee planter called Devon, whose plantation was s ...

* St. Clair's Falls

Post and telephone

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 ...

''00 94'' *

Area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

''052'' *

Postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

''22100''

Upper Kothmale Project

The last major hydro-electricity project in Sri Lanka,

Upper Kotmale Dam The Upper Kotmale Dam (also known as the Upper Kotmale Hydropower Project, or UKHP) is located in Talawakele, within the Nuwara Eliya District, in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. The dam feeds the third largest hydroelectric power station ...

, is currently underway near the town of Talawakelle. The project drew many a protests from environmentalists and local residents. Owing to threatened existence of St. Clair's Falls and fear of losing or submerging their homes to the dam.

Notes

References

* {{Municipalities and Urban areas of Sri Lanka Populated places in Nuwara Eliya District