Badulla: Why You'll Love This Destination?
Badulla marks the end of the line for Sri Lanka's famous hill-country train route, a working provincial capital that's less polished than Ella or Nuwara Eliya but sits close to Dunhinda Falls and a historic Kataragama devalaya shrine of its own.
Badulla marks the end of the line for Sri Lanka's upcountry railway, the final stop on one of the most scenic train routes in the world after it winds down from Ella and the tea hills above. Fewer tourists get off here than at Ella or Nuwara Eliya, which keeps the station and town centre noticeably more local and unhurried, per the Sri Lanka Vacation. The colonial-era station building itself is worth a look before continuing onward.
Dunhinda Falls drops around 64 metres in a wide curtain of water, reached by an easy thirty minute walk from the main road just outside Badulla, past a smaller waterfall along the way. It is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful falls in Sri Lanka, and the walk itself, through light forest with monkeys often visible overhead, is part of the appeal. Go in the morning before crowds build, per the Ceylon Travel, and expect spray if you get close to the viewing point.
Combine Badulla with the Dunhinda Falls walk and a visit to the Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara temple, one of Sri Lanka's oldest Buddhist shrines, said to date back to the Buddha's own visits to the island. Sri Lanka Travel Tours often positions Badulla as the natural endpoint of a hill country train journey rather than a separate destination in its own right. More on the wider hill country region is available through the Ceylon Tours.
