Kadugannawa is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Kandy District Kandy District ( si, මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, ta, கண்டி மாவட்டம்) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1906.3 km². Administrative divisions Ethnic ...

in the Central Province of

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 ...

, 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 located along the A1 road west of

Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...

. The town is served by Kadugannawa Railway Station and has the Kadugannawa Central College.

Museum

Since 2014 it is the location of the

national railway museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant r ...

Kadugannawa Pass

Kadugannawa Pass Kadugannawa Pass is a mountain pass located near Kadugannawa town in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is located along the Colombo-Kandy A1 highway. It is a common roadside stop for tourists to enjoy the vistas to the Kegalle valley bel ...

is a pierced rock in the Kadugannawa climb on the Kandy-Colombo road. In the 1820s when the British built the Kandy-Colombo road they pierced a rock at the Kadugannawa Pass instead of blasting it away or simply bypassing it, as the new road does today. An explanation is, that this Kadugannawa tunnel was a symbol. The tunnel is said to have been created to fulfil an old Sinhalese prophecy that there is no way for foreigners to rule Kandy unless they pierce the mountains. The British were the first foreign power to occupy Kandy permanently. Thus, the British went out of their way to include a tunnel on the road. Regrettably, this nice story is disputed, as the Kurunegala tunnel is claimed to have been constructed earlier (in 1823) to fulfil the prophetic saying.

Dawson Tower

Under the direction of

William Francis Dawson Captain William Francis Dawson (???? – 29 March 1829) was a prominent road builder in British Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka). An Engineer attached to the Royal Engineers, he was given the task of building the Colombo - Kandy Road linking Col ...

the first modern highway Colombo - Kandy Road was built in 1820 and William Francis Dawson died before the completion of the project. For the memory of William Francis Dawson, the

Dawson Tower Dawson Tower ( si, ඩෝසන් කුළුණ, Dosan Kuluna), is located on Kadugannawa in the Kadugannawa Pass Kadugannawa Pass is a mountain pass located near Kadugannawa town in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is located alo ...

was built in Kadugannawa.

Kadugannawa Ambalama

Kadugannawa Ambalama Kadugannawa Ambalama ( Sinhala:කඩුගන්නාව අම්බලම) is a historic wayside rest that is found – on the left, when traveling from ''Colombo to Kandy'', a few metres before the Kadugannawa Hairpin turn aka Kadugannaw ...

(Sinhala:කඩුගන්නාව අම්බලම) is a historic wayside rest that is found – on the left, when travelling from Colombo to Kandy, a few metres before the Kadugannawa Hairpin turn aka Kadugannawa pass. Built during the early 18th century and is about 200 years old now. This ambalama was built during the British colonial rule of Ceylon.

Kadugannawa Images

References