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It is said that there were 18 Walawwa’s within the city of Kandy during the period of the last king, Sri Wickrama Rajasinhe (1798-1815).
- Dunuwila Walawwa (දුනුවිල වලව්ව) – Currently used as the Kandy Town hall. Gone through some modifications
- Ehelapola Walawwa (ඇහැලේපොල වලව්ව) – Currently part of Bogambara Prison Complex
- Ellepola Walawwa (ඇල්ලේපොල වලව්ව) –
- Moladanda Walawwa (මොලදණ්ඩ වලව්ව) – destroyed
- Nugawela Walawwa (නුගවෙල වලව්ව) – destroyed
- Mullegama Walawwa (මුල්ලේගම වලව්ව) – destroyed
- Kapuwatta Walawwa (කපුවත්තෙ වලව්ව) –
- Wegodapola Walawwa (වෑගොඩපොල වලව්ව) –
- Meegasthanne Walawwa (මීගස්තැන්න වලව්ව)-
- Mampitiya Walawwa (මාම්පිටිය වලව්ව) – Basic structure of the Walawwa still survives. Today this building is known as the Royal Bar and Hotel on Raja Veediya
- Arawwawala Walawwa (ඇරැව්වාවල වලව්ව) –
- Arapola Walawwa (ඇරෑපොල වලව්ව) – destroyed
- Molligoda Walawwa (මොල්ලිගොඩ වලව්ව) – destroyed
- Dullewa Walawwa (දුල්ලෑව වලව්ව) – Changed by the British and then converted to Queens Hotel today
- Ratwatte Walawwa (රත්වත්තේ වලව්ව) – Chandra Silk House today
- Pilimathalawa Walawwa (පිළිමතලාව වලව්ව) – Currently the President’s House is located here. Another part is used as the Governor’s quarters.
- Dehigama Walawwa (දෙහිගම වලව්ව) – Destroyed. Now Central Finance Building
- Eramuduliyadde Walawwa (එරමුදුලියද්දේ වලව්ව)
- Giragama Walawwa (ගිරාගම වලව්ව) – not generally listed as part of the 18 walawwas.
The known history of the Mampitiya family goes back to 18th the century and in 1721, during the reign of King Weeraparakrama Narendrasinha (1707 – 1739), a Mampitiye Ralahami of this family was a Korale of the Kandyan kingdom. The family was also connected to the Keppetipola family and Ellepola family through marriages but their status was raised to a new level with a royal linkage with king Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747 – 1781) taking “Mampitiye Dugganna Unnanse“, the only daughter of the Mampitiye Disawe as a Yakadadoliya Consort. Yakadadoliya is the second queen of a king and the first (primary) Consort is called the Randoliya.
King Kirthi Sri Rajasinhe was a Wadiga national from the Nayakkara Clan in India, a Hindu by birth, his main consort was also of Nayakkara ancestry but his favourite was the Dugganna Unnanse. She gave birth to two sons and six daughters by the king. Dugganna Unnanse being a devoted Buddhist, the reign of King Kirthi Sri Rajasinhe was one of the golden eras for Buddhism during the Kandyan kingdom. After King Kirthi Sri Rajasinhe’s demise in 1781, his cousin was consecrated as Rajadhi Rajasinhe (1781 – 1798) and the Dugganna Unnanse has been his favourite Yakada Doliya too.
It is said the Dugganna Unnanse was a Yakadadoliya of King Sri Wikrama Rajasinhe (1798 – 1815) too. One of her sons born to Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe was Mampitiye Wasala Bandara who was a prince popular among the Kandyans. He was beheaded in 1812 after being accused of conspiring to dethrone King Sri Wikrama Rajasinhe and take the crown. This was a conspiracy by Pilimathalawe Adhikaram to take the throne away from the Nayakkara clan and to bring it under Kandyan chieftains. Mampitiye Wasala Bandara was the ideal candidate for Pilimathalawe Adhikaram to put forward for the crown due to his popularity.
The Mampitiya families continued to hold important positions after the British annexed Kandy and the Mampitiya Walawwa became a clubhouse for the British. The front of the walawwa has been changed to suit its new function but the basic features of the house remain unchanged. The “Royal Bar and Hotel” is located in this walawwa today.
Also See
Map of Mampitiya Walawwa in Kandy
The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites
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Travel Directions to Mampitiya Walawwa in Kandy
Kandy can be reached from Colombo on the old Colombo – Kandy road (option 1) which is scenic but heavy in traffic, especially on Fridays and Sundays. However, the new Central Expressway (option 2) has opened up a new route which is longer but less cumbersome.
| Route 1 from Colombo to Kandy | Route 2 from Colombo to Kandy |
| Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala Distance :150 km Travel time: 3.20 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map | Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala Distance :150 km Travel Time: 3.20 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map |
| Route From Nuwara Eliya to Kandy | |
| Through : Walapane – Raja Mawatha Distance :100 km Travel Time : 3.0 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map |
| Distance from Kandy Dalada Maligawa to Mampitiya Walawwa in Kandy |
| Distance : 350 m Travel time : 5 minutes Driving directions : see on google map |