The Central Province ( ''Madhyama Paḷāta'', ''Maddiya Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

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, ...

. The province has an area of 5,674 km² and a population of 2,421,148, making it the 2nd most populated province. The city of

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 ...

has been its capital since 1469. The Central Province is located primarily in the central mountainous terrain of Sri Lanka. It is bordered by the North Central Province to the north, the

Uva Province The Uva Province (, , ) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 8,500 km2 and a population of 1,266,463, making it the 2nd least populated province. The provincial capital is Badulla. Uva is bordered by the East ...

to the east, the North Western Province to the west and the

Sabaragamuwa Province The Sabaragamuwa Province (, , ) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, provinces of Sri Lanka. Ratnapura is the capital of the province. History The provinces of Sri Lanka were created by the British Empire, British in the 19th century, but ...

to the south and west. The province is famous for its production of

Ceylon tea Ceylon tea is both the brand of tea which is produced in Sri Lanka and a historic term describing tea from that land. Ceylon tea has been described as not only a geographical descriptor but also a pillar of Culture of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan cultur ...

, the cultivation of which was initiated by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in the 1860s after a devastating disease killed all coffee plantations in the province. The province attracts many tourists, with hill station towns such as

Gampola Gampola (, ) is a town located in Kandy District, in Sri Lanka's Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province. The town is governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four year ...

Hatton Hatton may refer to: Places England * Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish * Hatton, Derbyshire, a village and civil parish * Hatton, Lincolnshire, a village and civil parish * Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Houn ...

and

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( ; ) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrative capital of Nuwara Eliya District, with a picturesque landsc ...

. The province is home to four

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Sites World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

History

Though three successive

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an powers invaded and established colonies on the island of Sri Lanka between the 16th and 19th centuries, the central province managed to maintain its independence until 1815, when the

conquered the

Kingdom of Kandy The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom ...

. The British then established a colonial headman ranking system in 1824, which came into effect in 1832. The provinces of Sri Lanka were established by the British in 1833. In independent Sri Lanka, provinces did not have any legal status or power until 1987, when the

13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka (13A) is amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, passed in 1987, which created Provincial Councils in Sri Lanka. This amendment also made Sinhala and Tamil the official languages o ...

established

provincial councils A province is a geographic region within Gaelic games, consisting of several counties of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the historic four provinces of Ireland as they were set in 1610. Provincial councils A provin ...

. ;Colonial head

mudaliyars Thuluva Vellalar, also known as Agamudi Mudaliar or Arcot Mudaliars, is a caste found in northern Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh and southern Karnataka. They were an elite and dominant land-owning community. Etymology The earliest occu ...

* Sir Christofel de-Silva (1824–1842) * Don William Gunawardene De-Saram III (1842–1856) * Sir Hendrick Ekanayake (1856–1860) * Sir Alexander-James Divakara Mohotti (1860–1888) * Don Agaris Divakara Mohotti (1888–1924) The Mudaliyar Office was abolished in 1924 and the last of the colonial headmen retired from their positions and gave up the rule to the British officers in 1926. All headman positions were then passed down to the newly elected governor-general of the Central Province. This was established in 1929 as a way for the British to directly rule the provinces. The central province is home to many sites historical and cultural importance, such as the historic town of

Matale Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, , , ) 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 P ...

, the

Temple of the Tooth Sri Dalada Maligawa, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the Royal Palace Complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of ...

, the

Dambulla cave temple Dambulla cave temple (; ), also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla, is a World Heritage Site (1991) in Sri Lanka, situated in the central part of the country. This site is situated east of Colombo, north of Kandy and north of Matale. Dambu ...

, the Aluwihare temple and the Sigiriya rock fortress.

Geography

The province has an area of 5,674 km² and a population of 2,421,148. Major towns include

Dambulla Dambulla ( ''Dam̆bulla'', ''Tampuḷḷai'') is a city situated in the north of Matale District, in Sri Lanka's Central Province. It is the second largest populated and urbanised centre after Matale in the Matale District. It is situated ...

and

Mountain ranges

The terrain of the Central Province is mostly mountainous, with deep valleys cutting into it. The

Knuckles Mountain Range The Dumbara Mountain Range lies in central Sri Lanka, in the Districts of Matale and Kandy. The Sinhalese residents have traditionally referred to the area as ''Dumbara Kanduvetiya'' meaning Mist-laden Mountain Range. Early British surveyors g ...

Adam's Peak Adam's Peak is a conical sacred mountain located in central Sri Lanka.Capper, Daniel (2022), ''Roaming Free Like a Deer: Buddhism and the Natural World,'' Cornell University Press. It is well known for the ''Sri Pada'' (; ), a rock formati ...

and

Horton Plains Horton Plains National Park () is a national park in the central highlands of Sri Lanka that was designated in 1988. It covers an area of 31km² and borders Thotupalakanda Nature Reserve. It is located at an elevation of and encompasses montane ...

are UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in the

Central Highlands of Sri Lanka Central Highlands of Sri Lanka is a recognised World Heritage Site in Sri Lanka. The site comprises the Peak Wilderness Protected Area, the Horton Plains National Park and the Knuckles Conservation Forest. These are rain forests and montane cl ...

. The mountain of

Pidurutalagala Pidurutalagala (, pronounced , ''Straw Plateau Rock''), or previously Mount Pedro in English, is the highest mountain in Sri Lanka, at . It is situated North-North-East from the town of Nuwara Eliya and is easily visible from most areas of the ...

, an

ultra-prominent peak An ultra-prominent peak, or ultra for short, is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more; it is also called a P1500. The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or fro ...

and the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka at , is also located in the Central Province.

Climate

The Central Province has a relatively cooler climate, and many areas above 1,500 metres often have chilly nights. The western slopes are very wet, some places have almost 7,000 mm of rain per year. The eastern slopes are parts of the mid-dry zone and receives rain only from the North-Eastern monsoon. Temperatures range from 24 °C in Kandy to 16 °C in Nuwara Eliya, which is 1,889 m above sea level.

Demographics

The Central Province is an ethnically diverse province, with a mixture of Sinhalese,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and Moor communities. Many tea plantation workers are Indian Tamils, brought over to Sri Lanka by the British in the 19th century.

Ethnicity

Religion

As per the 2012 Sri Lankan census, there were 1,672,625

Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

, 540,339

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 263,874

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 94,402

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

and 317 people following other faiths in the Central Province.

Administrative divisions

The Central Province is divided into three

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

and 36 divisional secretariats.

Districts

Divisional secretariats

The

of the

are divided into administrative sub-units known as divisional secretariats. These were originally based on the feudal

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, the and ''. They were formerly known as 'DRO Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. Later the DROs became 'Assistant Government Agents' and the Divisions were known as 'AGA Divisions'. Currently, the divisions are administered by a 'Divisional Secretary' and are known as a 'DS Divisions'.'' There are 36 divisional secretariats in Central Province. There are 20 in the

Kandy District Kandy District (, ) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1,940 km2 (750 sq mi). Administrative divisions Ethnic groups and religion Major cities Suburbs of city of Kandy * Peradeniya * Katugasto ...

, 11 in the

Matale District Matale District (, ) is a district in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka. The administrative capital and largest city of the district is Matale. The district is considered to be the centremost region of ...

and 5 in the

Nuwara Eliya District Nuwara Eliya District (; ) is a district in Central Province, Sri Lanka, centered on the tourist city of Nuwara Eliya. Demographics According to the 2001 census of Sri Lanka, population of Nuwara Eliya district is 703,610, of which 50.5 ...

Major population centres

References

Maps

Searchable Map of Sri Lanka

External links

Central Provincial Council Sri Lanka

Office of the Council Secretary – Central Provincial Council Sri Lanka

Chief Secretary's Office – Central Provincial Council Sri Lanka

Central Provincial Postal Codes Sri Lanka

Cities in Central province
{{Authority control Provinces of Sri Lanka Geography of the Kingdom of Kandy