Kala Wewa
North Central Province
About Kala Wewa
Kala Wewa is ancient hydraulic engineering at its most audacious: a reservoir built by King Dhatusena around 460 AD, its embankment stretching over six kilometres to impound (with its twin Balalu Wewa) some seven square miles of water for the dry-zone kingdom. Its masterpiece flows out of sight: the Yoda Ela or Jaya Ganga, the 87-kilometre canal carrying Kala Wewa's water to Anuradhapura's tanks on a gradient astonishing even to modern engineers - roughly one foot of fall per mile for its first seventeen miles, a precision achieved fifteen centuries before laser levels. The chronicles' price was terrible: Dhatusena, showing his treasury to his usurping son, gestured at the tank and said 'this is all the wealth I possess' - and was walled up alive for it. The colossal Avukana Buddha gazes over the water he impounded; sunset on the bund, fishermen poling home, closes the story gently.
Top Activities
- ✓Sunset walks on the ancient bund
- ✓The Avukana Buddha overlooking the tank
- ✓Yoda Ela canal engineering story
- ✓Birdwatching along the shores
- ✓Combine with Sasseruwa and Dambulla
Nearby Attractions
Travel Tips
See Avukana and the tank together - statue first, sunset second.
The bund road makes a lovely slow drive or cycle.
Dhatusena's story makes the visit - read it before you go.
Quick Info
Best Time
Year-round; sunset on the bund
Weather
Hot and dry; the open bund is best at dawn and dusk.
Estimated Daily Budget
8.0333°N, 80.5333°E
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