A rare 16th-century roofed wooden footbridge, said to be the oldest surviving bridge of its kind in Sri Lanka.

Overview

The Bogoda Wooden Bridge is a delicate, roofed timber footbridge spanning the Gallanda Oya about 7 km west of Badulla. Built without a single nail and topped with a tiled roof carved in the Kandyan style, it once carried pilgrims along an ancient route between the Kandyan Kingdom and the shrines of Uva. Beside it stands the small Bogoda Raja Maha Vihara with old rock-shelter murals.

History

The bridge is believed to date from the 16th century in the Dambadeniya period and is regarded as the oldest surviving wooden bridge in Sri Lanka, and the only one of its type from the Kandyan era. It formed part of a historic pilgrimage route linking the Kandyan Kingdom with the major Buddhist shrines of the Uva Province.