Welanhinna Ancient Fort (වෙලන්හින්න පැරණි බළකොටුව)

RATE THIS LOCATION : (1 votes, average: 2.00 out of 5)

Loading...

Welanhinna Ancient Fort lies between Diyatalawa and Walgahawela in Badulla district of Uva province in the middle of a tea estate hidden away from the general public. To reach the site, travel either from Diyatalawa or Walgahawela up to the diversion to Welanhinna Vidayalaya and travel about 600-700 meters along this narrow but picturesque road to the top of the hill.

At present, this land is being cultivated as a tea estate and other areas are being captured as private lands. Therefore, the only evidence to identify this historic place is about 3m deep, 3m wide and 15m long trench at the top of the hill.

The Idalgashinna pass was a geographically strategic location to the Kandyan Kingdom. Just as the Balana Pass, Idalgaschinna pass was a primary access point to Kandy from the Uva territory. Welanhinna fort is located 4.7 km from the mountain range of Idalgasinna and 29 km away from Badulla city. with a 360 degree view from the site, this would have been an ideal location to observe enemy movements at Idalgashinna Pass and alert the soldiers at Badulla using smoke signals.

Most believe this to be a Dutch fort with established folklores on Dutch deployment of this fort. Other than the Dutch, there is a belief among the people of this area that John Davy visited Welanhinna Fort during the British era. It is fair to say that this area was under the Englishmen since the British had conquered the Kandyan kingdom by this time. But the fact that an English camp was held on the top of the Welanhinna mountain is irrational, as their military practice they require a lot of space to maintain a camp. This was not an ideal place for a permanent military base due to unavailability of water sources and the difficulty of getting supplies.

Since there is no trace of any permanent buildings at the site, this would have been used by the Kandyan army as an observation and a communication point complementing the Haldummulla Fort. At present, the land which the fort is located has been encroached for houses and tea planting. The only evidence to identify this location is the large trench cut across the top the hill. The trench is not maintained well and it is difficult to identify the location of the trench.

Sources

1. P. K. K. R. T. Witharana, 2021. An Exploratory Study on Indigenous Defense Tactics Displayed by the Welanhinna Fort of Ancient Kandyan Kingdom. Sri Lanka Military Academy Journal, 3, pp.100-121.

Also See

• Forts and Fortifications of Sri Lanka
• Ancient Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka
• Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity

Map of  Welanhinna Fort

Traveling Directions to Welanhinna Fort