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20-877: 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 seven medical officers including the DMO, Dr N.G.R.R.Senevirathne who upgraded this hospital into a good condition including the ETU with standard facilities. Deraniyagala divisional secretariat area includes 214.6 km2 and population of about 46300. The divisional secretariat includes 26 grama niladari divisions. 6°56′N 80°20′E  /  6.933°N 80.333°E  / 6.933; 80.333 Agriculture

40-568: A region in Maya Rata, which was one of three divisions of Sri Lanka. In the latter half of the Sinhalese kingdom and also by the ruling period of the British, Kegalle was further divided into three parts; “Satara Koralaya”,” Thun Koralaya” and “Patha Bulathgama”. Kegalle, situated in between the central highlands and western southern planes and has an enchanting environment. The height of the western region

60-453: A steeply inclined solid rock of more than 1,000 ft (300 m) thick. Initially, the railway track was constructed by gouging artificial grooves on the rock at the top of the waterfall to "split" the waterfall into two and fall away from the rail route. The tracks were then set up around the inclined rock and this was called the Meangalla ( මීන්ගල්ල ) pass. However, this railway route

80-652: Is a Sinhalese majority town; there are sizable communities belonging to other ethnic groups, such as Indian Tamils , Muslims and Tamils . Others include Burgher and Malay . Source: 2012 statistics.gov.lk Alagalla Mountain Range Alagalla ( Sinhala : අලගල්ල , literal translation: Tuber rock ) Mountain Range is situated at the boundaries of the Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces in Sri Lanka . Along with

100-653: Is derived from 'Aswaya' (Horse) and 'Pini' or 'Panina' (Jump) which combined means "the horses jumped over the falls". Wewaladeniya Viharaya, also known as Kegalla Siri Mahindodaya Piriwen Viharaya is one of oldest temples in Kegalle. It is located at the centre of the town. Alagalla Mountain Range in Sabaragamuwa province is "Freedom Summit" in Sri Lanka, where an annual folk climbing event takes place on 4 February commemorating country's independent from British empire. Kegalle

120-458: Is less than 150 metres (500 ft) above sea level while the eastern region exceeds 300 metres (1,000 ft). Rubber cultivation has stretched over most of the area of the district and minor export crops such as coffee, cocoa, pepper, clove and nutmeg takes an important place in the district's economy. Sri Lanka’s oldest graphite mine is situated at Bogala in Kegalle District. The extent of

140-404: Is the main source of income for majority of the people. Tea and rubber are main sources of income for people in the area. The main source of food is from rice fields. Apart from tea and rubber, coconut, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg and other minor export crops are farmed throughout the area. Deraniyagala has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round. It is one of

160-516: The Alagalla forest reserve, can also be viewed slightly off-route. Alternatively, a slightly longer trekking path via Poththapitiya can be reached by taking the Kandy- Poththapitiya bus route to Poththapitiya junction from Pilimathalawa . In both routes, the support of a local guide is strongly encouraged. The summit of the Alagalla mountain Range is a platform to witness the view of

180-458: The District is 169,280 ha (418,300 acres). The land has become another fertile facilitator to the cultivation promoted needs of the citizens of Kegalle. The district mainly being an agrarian society, rubber, tea and coconut are cultivated as the main crops of it. Apart from that clove, pepper, coffee and cocoa too are being cultivated as secondary commodities. As of the rubber cultivation, 33% of

200-622: The English once the Kandyan Kingdom was absorbed into the British Empire in 1815. However, extending the already working Colombo- Ambepussa ( අඹේපුස්ස ) mainline across the Alagalla mountain to Kandy proved to be extremely challenging as it had to be navigated around a waterfall, Meeyan Ella ( මීයන් ඇල්ල ) about 100 ft (30 m) high falling directly on the planned route and across

220-543: The Kelani River further boosts for the economic prosperity of the district. The town has a number of schools including: Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala is notable for having the largest herd of captive elephants in

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240-442: The agrarian lands have been utilised for it. 12,000 ha (30,000 acres) of land area have been occupied for the paddy cultivation. The rain water is the main resource provider for the cultivation in Kegalle. Minerals are another lucrative donor of the district of Kegalle. The Bogala graphite is one of the most notable mine in Kegalle district and marks a half amount of the total mineral export of Sri Lanka. The gem distribution near

260-475: The battles to invade the Kandyan Kingdom took place at Balana (literal translation viewing point ), with the Kandyan monarchs emerging victorious aided by the impenetrable mountain formations. The famous Balana Fort which functioned as a strategic rock fortress and an outpost to Kandyan kingdom was built between Kadugannawa Pass and Alagalla Mountain Range. The railway lines to upcountry were established by

280-408: The hills, it would mean he was defeated and killed in action. But, if he waved his own flag bearing his crest, that he was victorious". The King decided to play a joke on his wives, who were waiting with their horses near the waterfall to see the visual message, by waving a white flag. His wives were so upset that they all committed suicide by jumping over the falls which inspired the name Ahupini, which

300-613: The second-longest railway tunnel in Sri Lanka at 423 m (1,388 ft) long. Alagalla mountains can be reached by taking either the Colombo-Kandy line to Ihalakotte railway station, or by taking the Kandy- Poththapitiya bus from Pilimathalawa to Poththapitya junction. If following the Ihalakotte route, trekking can be started at Ihalakotte railway station through the Ihalakotte village. The 6-metre-high (20 ft) Dekinda ella ( දෙකිඳ ඇල්ල ) waterfall, served by

320-422: The stone age of Sri Lanka. According to evidence there had been a prosperous civilisation in Kegalle prior to 28,000 years. The caves of Beli lena, Dorawaka lena, Alu lena, Asmadala, Padavigampola, Batalegala, Lenagala, Ambala Kanda, Halamada, Heenatipana, Uthuwankanda, Beligala, Salawa, Yahalena, Salgala and Kela Dambulla provide evidence of that. According to the archaeology of the Kegalle District, it has been

340-474: The surrounding Bathalegala ( බතලේගල ) also known as Bible Rock , Uthuwankanda ( උතුවන්කන්ද ), Devanagala ( දෙවනගල ), Ambuluwawa ( අම්බුළුවාව ), Knuckles Mountain Range and Hanthana ( හන්තාන ) Mountain Range, Alagalla mountain has served as a natural defense location for nearly five centuries (1505–1948) against the Portuguese, Dutch and English invasions aimed at the Kandyan Kingdom . Most of

360-487: The wettest towns in Sri Lanka. Kegalle Kegalle has an agricultural based economy and mainly produces rubber . The surrounding area produces graphite , precious stones and agricultural products such as rice. It is the nearest town to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage , a major tourist attraction in the area, which is 13 km (8.1 mi) to the north-east. The history of the area dates back to

380-413: The world. Asupini Ella (waterfall) also called 'Asupini Falls' is a 30 metres (98 ft) waterfall that can be seen from the historic town of Aranayake . According to ancient tales, it was named after the story about a King who had many queens. On his return from war, he assured them that he would give them a sign from the hills about the fate of the war. He said, “If his soldiers waved a white flag over

400-460: Was found to be dangerous, especially in the rainy season as heavy rains caused the swollen waterfall and slip rocks to damage the trains and the rail tracks. This resulted in a more robust and safe rerouting via drilling through the solid rock. The Meeyangalla ( මීයන්ගල්ල ) tunnel, thus constructed and numbered as tunnel 5A, became the sixth tunnel in the Colombo-Kandy railway line and also

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