Batticaloa
Sign in to saveBatticaloa (, Maṭṭakkaḷappu, ; , Maḍakalapuwa, ) is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and is a major commercial centre. It is on the east coast, south of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island. Pasikudah is a popular tourist destination situated northwest with beaches and flat year-round warm-water shallow-lagoons.
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Place details
- Locality
- Batticaloa
- Region
- Eastern Province
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Population
- 86,742
- Timezone
- Asia/Colombo
via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames
Key facts
- Settlement.name
- Batticaloa
- Settlement.native_name
- மட்டக்களப்பு මඩකලපුව
- Settlement.settlement_type
- City
- Settlement.image_skyline
- Batticaloa montage.jpg
- Settlement.image_caption
- Clockwise from top: Kallady Bridge, Unnichchai Tank, Fishing boats, Batticaloa Bus stand, Batticaloa Lagoon, Batticaloa Fort, Batticaloa Lighthouse-->
- Settlement.pushpin_map
- Sri Lanka
- Settlement.subdivision_type
- Country
- Settlement.subdivision_name
- Sri Lanka
- Settlement.subdivision_type2
- Province
- Settlement.subdivision_name2
- Eastern
- Settlement.subdivision_type3
- District
- Settlement.subdivision_name3
- Batticaloa
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human settlement
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Located in
- Batticaloa District
- Population
- +95489
- Elevation
- +10
- Time zone
- UTC+05:30
- Capital of
- Batticaloa District
- Official website
- www.batticaloa.dist.gov.lk
- Image
- Batticaloa montage.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- P910
Article
23 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Geography
- Climate
- History
- Early history
- Mukkuva wars
- Kalinga Magha
- Jaffna principality
- European colony
- Batticaloa principality
- World War II
- 2004 tsunami
- 2019 Easter Bombings
- Modern Batticaloa Town
- Demography
- Educational institutions
- Cultural institutions
- Religious institutions
- Economic activities
- Transport
- See also
- References
- External links
Batticaloa (, Maṭṭakkaḷappu, ; , Maḍakalapuwa, ) is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and is a major commercial centre. It is on the east coast, south of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island. Pasikudah is a popular tourist destination situated northwest with beaches and flat year-round warm-water shallow-lagoons.
== Etymology == Batticaloa is a Portuguese derivation. The original name of the region being the Tamil "Matakkalappu" (translation: Muddy Swamp). According to Mattakallappu Manmiyam (மட்டக்களப்பு மான்மியம்) the word Mattakkallpu consists Tamil words "Mattu" (மட்டு) Matta-derived from "Mattam" (மட்டம்) means 'flat' and geographical name KaLappu. Mukkuwa named this place as KaLappu-Mattam or boundary of lagoon later it became Matta-Kallappu or Flat Lagoon. Also, Batticaloa has a nickname, "Land of the singing fish" () due to musical sounds that related to fish or aquatic creature in the Batticaloa Lagoon near the Kallady Bridge. BBC Radio 4 was able to record the mysterious sound in Batticaloa Lagoon. The sound was broadcast by Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation in 1960s with the help of Rev. Fr. Lang, a Catholic priest.