Bogoda Wooden Bridge

World oldest wooden bridge

This striking wooden bridge was built in the 16th century and is said to be the oldest wooden bridge in the world. This wooden Bridge was built during the Dambadeni kingdom period.

The Bogoda wooden Bridge is an exclusive construction as it has an 8 feet tall tiled roof structure for its entire span of nearly 50 feet length with a 6 feet breadth.

The king found refuge in the rock from the marauding Dravidian invaders from South India as he did in Dambulla caves. Upon regaining his kingdom, he had the rock temple built in gratitude as he built the world renowned (A World heritage Site) Rangiri Dambulu Temple (Golden Dambulla Rock Temple). In one of famous literary works of Lanka named Sandesha Kavya (1612-1624) (Letter of Poems), travellers were encouraged to worship at this temple on their route from Badulla to Kandy. Behind the temple, down some steps is an entrance to a tunnel believed to run through the mountain to the nearby tea estate, Tudumale. It has been used by King Walagambahu during his 2 1/2 years of hiding at Bogoda. In the present era, no human has ventured through it.

Covered with a tiled roof in the Kandyan style, it is in a lovely, peaceful setting, on both sides of the shallow Gallanda Oya River, with a rock temple next to it, which dates from the 1st century BC. Bogoda was on an ancient route connecting Badulla with Kandy, and travelers stop here to worship at the temple

All this literary and archaeological facts reveals the existence of an indigenous bridge building technology in the island prior to the influence of industrialization.

It is thirteen kilometers south of Badulla, up a small road that branches off from the Hali Ela junction for 11km.