The A1 road (commonly known as the ''Colombo - Kandy Road'' or just the ''Kandy Road'') is an A-Grade trunk road in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It connects the capital city of

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

with

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

History

Commonly known as the Kandy Road, the A1 was the first modern highway in the island. Construction began in 1820 under the orders of the British Governor of Ceylon,

Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, 3rd Baronet Sir Robert John Wilmot-Horton, 3rd Baronet, GCH, PC, FRS (21 December 1784 – 31 May 1841), born Robert John Wilmot, was a British politician, sociopolitical theorist, and colonial administrator. He was Under-Secretary of State for War and ...

. Construction was carried out by Captain William Francis Dawson—who died during the project—along with Major Thomas Skinner. In the memory of Captain Dawson, the Dawson Tower was erected at

Kadugannawa Kadugannawa is a town in Kandy District in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in ...

in the Kadugannawa Pass.

Route

The A1 highway begins at

Colombo Fort Fort (Colombo) (Sinhala: ; Tamil: ) is the central business district of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is the financial district of Colombo and the location of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the World Trade Centre of Colombo from which the CSE ...

. It passes through

Peliyagoda Peliyagoda is a town in the Western Province of Sri Lanka, lying mostly on the north shore of the Kelani River The Kelani River () is a river in Sri Lanka. The fourth-longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Rang ...

Kelaniya Kelaniya ( ) is a suburb of Colombo in the Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province, Sri Lanka. Located from Colombo Fort, it is known for the Buddhist temple built on the banks of the Kelani River, which divides the suburb from Colombo Di ...

Kiribathgoda Kiribathgoda (, ) is a suburb of Gampaha and is situated on A1 highway, between Kelaniya and Kadawatha. It is the first commercial E-Suburb in Sri Lanka. The suburb is located 12 km away from Colombo Fort centre. It is also linked to Makola ...

, Mahara,

Kadawatha Kadawatha (or Kadawata) ( ) is a large suburb of Gampaha, in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated on the A1 highway, approximately away from the centre of Colombo. Industrial machines, factories, diesel motor houses, strategic inve ...

, Kirillawala, Imbulgoda, Balummahara, Miriswaththa,

Yakkala Yakkala is a village located between Nittambuwa and Kadawatha on the A1 Highway (Colombo-Kandy Road). It forms part of Gampaha Municipal Council and located in the Gampaha District, Western Province. It is located north-east from Colombo, east ...

, Weediyawaththa, Thihariya,

Nittambuwa Nittambuwa is a semi urban town, situated in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. The town is situated on the Colombo-Kandy highway. It is connected also to Negombo with the highway via Veyangoda-Minuwangoda. It was the home town of the world's first fem ...

, Pasyala, Wewaldeniya, Danovita, Warakapola, and

Ambepussa Ambepussa is a town in the Kegalle District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. History The Ambepussa railway station, was the terminus station for the first rail passenger service, a ten-carriage train which departed Colombo Fort railway s ...

. At Ambepussa, Kurunegala, Mawathagama, Weuda the A6 Highway branches off the A1, heading towards

Kurunegala Kurunegala (, ; , ) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end of the 13th ...

. The A1 continues east, passing Tholangamuwa, Udukumbura, Nelundeniya, Yattogoda, Galigamuwa, Ambanpitiya, Ranwala,

Kegalle Kegalle (; ) is a large town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo–Kandy road, approximately from Colombo, from Kandy, from Kurunegala and from Avissavella. It is the main town in the Kegalle District, which i ...

, Meepitiya, Karandupana, Molagoda, Uthuwankanda, Anwarama,

Mawanella Mawanella is a future Muslim town which belongs to the Kegalle district in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It lies between Kegalle and Kadugannawa along the Colombo-Kandy road. The area consists of four administrative areas, namely Mawane ...

, Beligammana, Hingula,

, Pilimathalawa, Kiribathkumbura, and

Peradeniya Peradeniya (; ) is a suburb of the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka with about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the A1 main road, a few kilometres west of Kandy city centre. Peradeniya's name is derived from ''pera'' (guava) and ''deniya'' (a plain ...

to reach Kandy.

Images

Here are some photos of A1 Highway and notable places found along it.

References

A01 highway {{SriLanka-road-stub