Athurugiriya
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Athurugiriya
අතුරුගිරිය அத்துருகிரிய | |
|---|---|
| Motto: | |
  Athurugiriya Location of Athurugiriya in Colombo District | |
| Coordinates: 6°53′32″N 79°56′34″E / 6.89222°N 79.94278°E | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Province | Western Province |
| District | Colombo District |
| Elevation | 30 m (100 ft) |
| Population | |
| 84,278 | |
| • Urban | 5,799 |
| • Metro | 78,479 |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (SLT) |
| Postal Code | 10150 [1] |
Athurugiriya is a suburb of Colombo District, Sri Lanka. It is situated on the Kotte-Bope Road (B 240) about 21 km (13 mi) away from the centre of the commercial capital Colombo. This suburb is a highly sought after residential centre in Colombo.
The history of the area dates back to at least 212 BC. The historic cave temple complex, Korathota Raja Maha Vihara, is located 3 km (1.9 mi) north of the city centre. This temple has two Brahmi inscriptions and one of them records that a cave at the site was offered to Maha Sanga (Buddhist monks) by a daughter of Mahachula Mahatissa.[2] The second one says one cave was offered to Maha Sanga by a provincial leader called Sumana.[3]
Transport
Athurugiriya has one of the interchanges of Outer Circular Expressway, which is located at Pore, about 1 km (0.62 mi) from Colombo centre.
Athurugiriya is a major urban centre located along the road connecting Malabe on New Kandy Road, and Godagama on High Level Road. In addition, Kaduwela and Thalawathugoda are major urban centres nearby.