| Balangoda | |
| Native Name: | බළන්ගොඩ பலாங்கொடை |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | Sri Lanka |
| Pushpin Label Position: | above |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Sri Lanka |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Sri Lanka |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Sabaragamuwa Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Ratnapura District |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Population As Of: | 2001 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
| Timezone: | +5.30 |
| Coordinates: | 6.65°N 121°W |
Balangoda is a town in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an urban council located 143km (89miles) away from Colombo and 43km (27miles) from Ratnapura on Colombo - Batticaloa Highway(A4). It is one of the largest towns of the Sabaragamuwa Province. According to the 2001 census, Balangoda has a population of 16,875 and area of 16.2km2.
Balangoda is notable due to the discovery of skeletal Hominini remains from the late Quaternary period (the earliest reliably dated record of anatomically modern humans in South Asia).[1] [2] The town is also the birthplace of Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero[3] and Sirimavo Bandaranaike (the world's first female head of government) the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (1960–65, 1970–77 and 1994–2000).[4] [5]
Balangoda is situated in the hilly central region of central Sri Lanka on Sabaragamuwa Mountain Range. The main livelihoods of this region are farming (vegetables, fruits, and spices), rice cultivation for mainly local consumption, tea cultivation for international markets as a commercial crop and gem mining.
Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka
The main schools in the area are: