Badulla

Badulla lies among the central hills of Sri Lanka, almost encircled by a bend of the Badulu Oya about 680 metres above sea level. The Namunukula range rises to the north, its highest point reaching 2,016 metres. This sheltered valley position placed the town between highland passes and the lower routes leading toward the coast.

Badulla was a seat of a local prince under the king of Kandy. In the early seventeenth century, the highland kingdom faced Portuguese campaigns; a local municipal history associates the prince Kumarasighe with resistance in the Uva region. Muthiyangana Temple, in the town, is one of the island's revered Buddhist places. These institutions connect the valley with the political and religious life of the Kandyan highlands.