Balana

Balana is a locality in Sri Lanka situated in the central highlands. It is best known for Balana Pass, a mountain pass that historically connected the central highlands with the plains and has served as a key route for movement and trade in the region.

The Balana Pass has long held strategic significance, and the surrounding area is associated with historical fortifications and military activity aimed at controlling access to the Kandyan Kingdom and protecting routes from external powers. References to Balana Fort and related defenses appear in accounts of Kandyan and colonial-era conflicts, reflecting the pass’s role in regional security and mobility.

Today, Balana is largely a rural area with small settlements and agricultural activity. The locality is connected to nearby towns by regional roads and lies within a landscape of highland features, tea plantations, and scenic views typical of Sri Lanka’s central highlands.

The name Balana may refer to the pass itself as well as the broader locality in which it sits. In local usage, the term is employed in geographic descriptions and place names associated with the surrounding hillside area, preserving a sense of the historical and geographic significance of the Balana region.