Map of Sri Lanka showing the location of Kurunegala in relation to 'C' Colombo

Kurunegala, Sri Lanka

Kurunegala lies in an area known as the 'Coconut Triangle' just over 90km from Colombo and about 40km from Kandy

Kurunegala within the best coconut growing area on Sri Lanka, the so called Coconut Triangle.

It is famous for the range of large rocks, locally refered to as mountains! Littered with sparse ruined remains of the one time national capital: Andagala or Ada-gala - Eel rock, Elluwagala or Elu-gala - Goat rock, Ethugala or Etha-gala the 315m high Elephant Rock, that overloks the town - "Kurune" means Tusker and Gala in Sinhala means rock, Ibbagala or Ibba-gala - Tortise rock, Kuruminigala or Kuruminiya-gala - Ladybird Beetle rock, Yakdessa-gala rock and Wanduragala or Wandura-gala - Monkey rock.

Places of interest:

The Seven Rocks

Ibba-gala Buddhist Temple, in a low valley halfway to Elephant Rock

Maligawa Ancient Ruins - Parakramapura or Panduvasnuwara to the north-west with remains of a moated palace and monasteries from the 12th century, Dambadeniya to the south-west with its mid-13th century ruins, and Yapavuwa to the north.

Kurunegala Lake or Kurunegala vewa - A large man-made water reservoir constructed by ancient kings.

Kurunegala Clock Tower a war memorial to soldiers and officers who fell in the two World Wars.

The Malay Mosque in Kurunegala

Kurunegala was Sri Lanka's Millennium City and there seems to be a lot of inerest in Kurunegala real estate from foreign buyers looking for land, property or homes in Kurunegala. Why?

We apologise for the repetition of some place or proper names with different spellings, but there is no definitive spelling translation of these words.

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The conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, commonly known as “the Tamil Tigers”) ended in May 2009. Although the conflict is over, the LTTE are believed to retain some capability to mount terrorist attacks such as grenade or explosive device attacks and shootings. The Government has relaxed the State of Emergency, under which it has extensive anti-terrorism powers but there are still heightened levels of security (e.g. checkpoints, road blocks) throughout the country. You should exercise a high level of vigilance. The risk for the most part is one of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In order to minimise this, you should avoid military, government and paramilitary locations. Always carry formal photographic identification with you. Stop and show your ID when asked to do so. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission.

Fatal attacks linked to the LTTE occurred throughout the country into 2009. Most attacks have been directed against Government and military targets though a number have been focussed on civilian targets such as crowded public places, public transport and market areas. Some of the most significant attacks included a suicide bomb at a political gathering in March 2009 and an air raid on military targets in Colombo in February 2009.

JeGraNet.com statement - 15 October 2008 - Quote from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: "There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Fatal attacks have become more frequent. They have occurred in Colombo and throughout Sri Lanka, including places frequented by expatriate and foreign travellers. Further attacks may occur at any time. There is an increasing risk of British nationals being caught up in an attack". As independent travellers we left Colombo after just 9 days into our planned 6 month stay as a result of a feeling of insecurity, however we are sure that 'package tour' travellers to tourist resorts will probably enjoy a worry free holiday.