Bandarawela is the second largest town in Badulla District which is 28 km away from Badulla city. Due to a higher altitude, Bandarawela has a cooler climate throughout the year. Bandarawela is 210 km away from Colombo and about 150 km away from Kandy, Colombo and Kandy being two major cities in Sri Lanka. Both roads and railway transportation are available to reach the area. Bandarawela town, tinted with a colonial past resting among lush forestation has found its niche among its visitors as a base for eco-tourism
History of the Bandarawela area is coming from the time of great Sinhalese King Valagamba who fell back and regrouped in the Dhowa region to fight against Chola invaders.
During the period of British colonial era, the city occurred rapid development of the infrastructures and human resources due to tea plantations and migration of the British and local people to the area. A lot of past evidences can be seen their belongs to that colonial period. There is few buildings remaining which were built in the British colonial period with British architectural influences such as the Bandarawela Hotel, the Cargill's building, the Tennis club, etc.
Bandarawela is one of the Sinhalese majority territories in Sri Lanka before the establishment of tea plantations under British administration. Nowadays there is a mix culture due to the migration of Tamils to the tea plantation sector as laborers from India under British colonial times. Those Tamil community had been got their full citizenship during the UNP Government period in 1978 to 1988 by Affidavit Act no 39 of 1988 [1]. The records of the other ethnic groups in this area are negligible.
Bandarawela famous as having been the camp in Ceylon of the Boer prisoners of war and some of the buildings erected for the temporary accommodation of the captives are now used in connection with the permanent camp health recuperation established here for the Navy , military and volunteers.
