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Kurunegala (කුරුණෑගල, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end of the 13th century to the start of the 14th century. It is at the junction of several main roads linking to other important parts of the country. It is about from Colombo, from Kandy and from Matale. Located at an altitude of above sea level, Kurunegala is surrounded by coconut plantations and rubber estates. There are eight very noticeable large rocks that encircle and dominate the city. Kurunegala's rocks rise from the plain below and have characteristic names, six of which come from the animals that they are imagined to represent. The largest among them is Ethagala or the "Elephant Rock" (though the translation is actually tusker), reaches . The shape of Ethagala resembles an elephant. Kurunegala has been named after the Elephant rock (ඇතුගල). "Kurune" means tusker or an elephant with protruding teeth and gala in Sinhala means rock. Kurunai means tusker or an Elephant and gal in Tamil means rock or hill. Kurunegala's old name was Hasthishaila-pura, which can be translated as 'The City of the Elephant Rock' in Sanskrit. In some ancient literature, the word Athugal-pura (ඇතුගල්පුර) is employed to describe the city of Kurunegala. Nearby are three archeological cities — Parakramapura (Panduvasnuwara, පඬුවස්නුවර) (northwest) with remains of a moated palace and monasteries from the 12th century, Dambadeniya (දඹ‍‍‍‍දෙනිය) (southwest, mid-13th century) and Yapahuwa (north). Kurunegala enjoys a pleasant location with huge rocky outcrops some of which have been given names of the animals they resemble: elephant rock, tortoise rock etc. According to folklore legend, a long time back the city had a severe drought. To exacerbate matters for humans, animals had threatened the city's storage capabilities by consuming huge amounts of water. A witch volunteered to alleviate the problem, transforming some of the animals magically into stone figures.

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Related concepts (12)

Matale

Matale (Sinhala: මාතලේ, மாத்தளை) is a major city in Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative capital and largest urbanised city of Matale District. Matale is also the second largest urbanised and populated city in Central Province. It is located at the heart of the Central Highlands, of the island and lies in a broad, green fertile valley at an elevation of above sea level. Surrounding the city are the Knuckles Mountain Range, the foothills were called Wiltshire by the British.

Kandy

Kandy (මහනුවර Mahanuwara, mahanuʋərə; கண்டி Kandy, ˈkaɳɖi) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city is situated in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and is also the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world.

Negombo

Negombo (මීගමුව, நீர்கொழும்பு) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in the Western Province, from Colombo via the Colombo–Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country and the administrative centre of Negombo Division. Negombo has a population of about 142,136 within its divisional secretariat division. Negombo municipal boundary is fully extended throughout its Divisional Secretariat area.