Athurugiriya is a suburb of Colombo in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. It is situated on the Kotte-Bope Road (B 240) about 15 km (9.3 mi) away from the centre of the commercial capital Colombo. This suburb is a highly sought after residential centre in Colombo.

Athurugiriya අතුරුගිරිය அத்துருகிரிய
Suburb
Motto:  Colombo
Athurugiriya Location of Athurugiriya in Colombo District
Coordinates: 6°53′32″N 79°56′34″E
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Western Province
District	Colombo District
Elevation	30 m (100 ft)
Population
• Suburb	84,278
• Urban	5,799
• Metro	78,479
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (SLT)
Postal Code	10150 [1]

History

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 from the city centre. Brahmi inscriptions on the cave temple mention a dedication from the daughter of King Walagamba and a local official.

This temple has two important historical inscriptions, which says this temple was offer to Maha Sanga by a daughter of Mahachula Mahatissa. Second one says one cave offered to Maha Sanga by a provincial leader call Sumana.[2]

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.

Residential

Athurugiriya is a highly sought after residential area in Colombo. Many important government office complexes; such as Sethsiripaya, Suhurupaya, Isurupaya and many other government institutions in Denzil Kobbekaduwa Mawatha; are situated within 10 km (6.2 mi) of Athurugiriya.

Upper-middle class housing complex Millennium City is located within 1 km (0.62 mi) from Athurugiriya.

See also

• Millennium City incident

References