The Wayamba Province

If the paradise is Sri Lanka. Wayamba the North Western Province is truly Eden. It is one boundless garden dotted by million of coconut palms. It is a lovely country with placid rivers, thousands of manmade lakes, natural lagoons, lush green forests, with the warm water of the Indian Ocean lapping its coastlines.

   Nature has been more than generous to Wayamba. The land slopes from the Kandyan hills to the Western Sea coast and is undulating with rivers draining the land in and East - West direction. The climate and soils are conducive, to good living. It is a bounting region with coconuts, paddy and tree crops. Undeveloped land is difficult to find. Recent investigation show that it is blessed with a variety of mineral resources.

   Sri Lankan Civilization commence in Wayamba with the landing of Prince Vijaya in 543 B.C. the people of the North - Western Province or Wayamba are proud of this fact. The first capital of Sri Lanka was Panduwasnuwara in Wayamba. The magnificent ruins of the city which are well preserved bear testimony to the level of development achieved even then.

   The capital later shifted to Anuradhapura but Wayamba was always in the forefront as a major agricultural zone and a centre for culture and learning. In the  13^th century the capital of Sri Lanka was once again shifted to Wayamba.

   The development in the province through history has had a salutary effect on the people of  Wayamba. The inherent skills of the people, the highly - cultured traditions, their trainability are all attributed to this fact. This has led to it being one of the most intensively developed regions of the country.

   It has an irrigation system based on small thanks, the structures of some of which go back to medieval times and earlier, under which lie some of the best paddies in the country.

   Major irrigation works, minor village works and seasonal rainfall sustain paddy cultivation in Wayamba. The country's premier Paddy Breeding Station is located, at Batalagoda in Wayamba.

    But, by far the most economically important  agricultural crop is coconut. The coconut triangle of Sri Lanka lies within Wayamba. Its apex research organization, the Coconut Research Institute is also located within Wayamba.

     Wayamba offers challenges in intensified agriculture and intercropping in the sprawling coconut area, with new crops and dairy farming and has vast resources for industrialization.