AlagallaMountain Range is situated at the boundaries of the Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces in Sri Lanka. Along with the surrounding italic=no also known as Bible Rock, italic=no, italic=no, italic=no, Knuckles Mountain Range and Hanthana Mountain Range, Alagalla mountain has served as a natural defense location for nearly five centuries against the Portuguese, Dutch and English invasions aimed at the Kandyan Kingdom.
Historical importance
Most of the battles to invade the Kandyan Kingdom took place at Balana, with the Kandyan monarchs emerging victorious aided by the impenetrable mountain formations. The famous Balana fort which functioned as a strategic rock fortress and an outpost to Kandyan kingdom was built between Kadugannawa Pass and Alagalla Mountain Range.
Meangalla Pass and Meeyangala tunnel
to upcountry were established by the English once the Kandyan Kingdom was absorbed into the British Empire in 1815. However, extending the already working Colombo-Ambepussa mainline across the italic=no mountain to Kandy proved to be extremely challenging as it had to be navigated around a waterfall, italic=no about high falling directly on the planned route and across a steeply inclined solid rock of more than thick. Initially, the railway track was constructed by gouging artificial grooves on the rock at the top of the waterfall to "split" the waterfall into two and fall away from the rail route. The tracks were then set up around the inclined rock and this was called the italic=no pass. However, this railway route was found to be dangerous, especially in the rainy season as heavy rains caused the swollen waterfall and slip rocks to damage the trains and the rail tracks. This resulted in a more robust and safe rerouting via drilling through the solid rock. The italic=no tunnel, thus constructed and numbered as tunnel 5A, became the sixth tunnel in the Colombo-Kandy railway line and also the second longest railway tunnel in Sri Lanka at long.
Hiking through the Alagalla Mountains
Alagalla mountains can be reached by taking either the Colombo-Kandy line to italic=no railway station, or by taking the Kandy-italic=no bus from italic=no to italic=no junction. If following the italic=no route, trekking can be started at italic=no railway station through the italic=no village. The high italic=no waterfall, served by the Alagalla forest reserve, can also be viewed slightly off-route. Alternatively, a slightly longer trekking path via italic=no can be reached by taking the Kandy-italic=no bus route to italic=no junction from italic=no. In both routes, the support of a local guide is strongly encouraged. The summit of the Alagalla mountain Range is a platform to witness the view of the other surrounding mountains, including italic=no also known as Bible Rock, italic=no, italic=no, Knuckles Mountain Range and Hanthana Mountain Range.
