Kadugannawa Tunnel

Kadugannawa Tunnel

. Kadugannawa Tunnel (Sinhala: කඩුගන්නාව උමග) is a small rock-tunnel located at Kadugannawa on the Colombo-Kandy road in Kandy District, Sri Lanka. The entry to Kandy through the Balana Pass was difficult during the Kandyan Period due to several reasons including the exists of natural barriers such as Giri-durga (mountain pass), Vana-durga (forest pass), and Jala-durga  [(water pass)  Abeyawardana, 2002] . The Portuguese, Dutch, and British are said to have found difficulties on many occasions when they try to enter the Kandyan Kingdom through Balana ( Abeyawardana, 2002) . Therefore, folks are said to have tended to believe that if someone wants to capture the Kandyan Kingdom, it is needed to pierce the rock at the Kadugannawa first ( Abeyawardana, 2002) . Kandy was annexed to the British empire in 1815. In the 1820s, the British commenced the construction works of the  modern Colombo - Kandy road through the Kadugannawa mountain pass. At Kadannawa, they met this rock as a barrier. To proceed wi…