Sri Lanka is a popular tourist destination. Tourism is a key industry that attracts international tourists yearly. Foreigners visit Sri Lanka to see nature, wildlife, historical monuments, and indigenous culture. In 2018, tourist arrivals peaked at 2.5 million, who spent a total of US$5.6 billion in the country. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused tourist numbers to decrease by 92% in 2020. As of 2022, tourist numbers have not rebounded from the pre-crisis high. The government is attempting to attract foreign investment in the country's tourism industry, which began in earnest after the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009.
North Western Province is a province of Sri Lanka. It is the fourth-largest province by land area, covering 7,888 km2 (3,046 sq mi), and the fourth-most populated province with a population of over 2,592,000 people. North Western Province is bordered by the North Central Province, Sri Lanka to the north, Central Province, Sri Lanka to the east, Sabaragamuwa Province to the southeast, Western Province, Sri Lanka to the south, and is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the west.
Kurunegala is a district in North Western Province, Sri Lanka. The district is 4,812.7 km2 (1,858.2 sq mi). It consists of thirty divisional secretariats, 1,610 grama niladari divisions and 4,476 villages. It has fourteen electoral divisions, two municipal councils, nineteen urban councils, fifteen members of parliament, 47 provincial council members, fifteen ministers and 337 local council members.
Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. It was introduced to the island in first century. Traditionally, after Thomas the Apostle's visit in Kerala in AD 52, Christianity is said to have been introduced to Sri Lanka because of its close geographical and commercial ties.
Kuliyapitiya is the second largest town in Kurunegala District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. It is located 82 kilometres (51 mi) north-east of Colombo and 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Kurunegala. Kuliyapitiya is home to the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. Coconut and paddy cultivation are the main economic activities in this area. The town centre includes commerce and retail enterprises.
Johnston Xavier Fernando is a Sri Lankan politician, former Cabinet Minister, Chief Government Whip and a former member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from the Kurunegala District. He belongs to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He is considered a leader of the Rajapaksa loyalist mobs that carried out violent attacks against peaceful protestors during the 9 May 'Black Monday' incident of the 2022 Sri Lankan Protests. He lost his parliamentary seat in 2024.
J. P. Dayasiri Padma Kumara Jayasekara is a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament. He is the District Leader of the SLFP for the Kurunegala District and Organizer for the Paduwasnuwara Electorate.
Akila Viraj Kariyawasam is a Sri Lankan politician and lawyer who served as minister of education from 2015 to 2019.
Kurunegala electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Kurunegala in the North Western province. The district currently elects 15 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 1,183,649 registered electors in 2010. The district is Sri Lanka's Electorate Number 15.
Kobeigane Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Kurunegala District, of North Western Province, Sri Lanka.
Bibiladeniye Mahanama Thero is a Buddhist monk of the Theravada Order. The thero is the only Buddhist priest in Asia of the Theravada order to actively engage in the experimentation and the creative exploration of music as a form of aesthetic expression. The thero has been actively engaged with the art, both on overseas projects as well as in Sri Lanka for nearly two decades.
Galle Harbour is a natural harbour, located in Galle, on the south-western coast of Sri Lanka. Currently Galle port serves as one of the most active regional ports in the country. It is also the only Sri Lankan port that provides facilities for pleasure yachts. International yacht societies have recognised Galle Harbour as one of the world's best attractions for yachting.
Panduwasnuwara electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between July 1977 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Panduwasnuwara in Kurunegala District, North Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Panduwasnuwara electoral district was replaced by the multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the proportional representation system.
Buduruwagala Archaeological Museum is a regional museum located in Buduruwagala, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1988 and owned by Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka.
Anuradhapura Archaeological Museum is the oldest and the largest museum belonging to the Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka.
The Maritime and Naval History Museum is a Maritime museum located at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. It has been established near to Fort Fredrick where the Dutch first landed to the island in the 16th century.
Panduwasnuwara Raja Maha Vihara is an ancient Buddhist temple situated in Panduwasnuwara, Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka. The temple has been formally recognised by the Government as an archaeological site in Sri Lanka. The designation was declared on 13 March 1970 under the government Gazette number 14897.
Ananda Wedisinghe was a Sri Lankan motor racing legend and eight time Fox Hill Supercross motorcycle national champion of Sri Lanka. He hailed from Kurunegala and is credited as the pioneer of Sri Lankan motocross racing. He died at the age of 47 due to injuries sustained on his head and leg following a motor cycle crash during a Nuwara Eliya road race held on 23 April 2017.
The Panduwasnuwara Polling Division is a polling division in the Kurunegala Electoral District, in the North Western Province, Sri Lanka.
Ganegama Grama Niladhari Division is a Grama Niladhari Division of the Panduwasnuwara West Divisional Secretariat of Kurunegala District of North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It has Grama Niladhari Division Code 1328.
