How far is Kandy from Colombo by road?

Colombo to Kandy is 115 km by road along the A1 (Colombo–Kandy highway) via Kadawatha, Nittambuwa, Kegalle and Mawanella. At a free-flowing A-class average of 45 km/h that works out to about 2 hours 33 minutes, though the climb from Kadugannawa to Kandy is usually slower in practice.

What is the road distance from Colombo to Jaffna?

About 393–394 km. The route runs north on the A6/A10 to Anuradhapura, then the A9 through Medawachchiya, Vavuniya and Kilinochchi to Jaffna. Allow 8–9 hours of driving on A-class roads; there is no expressway covering the bulk of this corridor yet.

How long does it take to drive from Colombo to Galle?

On the Southern Expressway (E01) it is roughly 119 km and about 1 hour 23 minutes at expressway speeds, plus the toll. The toll-free coastal A2 is a similar 119 km but takes around 2 hours 39 minutes because it passes through every coastal town. The tool shows both so you can weigh the toll against the time saved.

How many kilometres is Colombo to Anuradhapura?

About 205 km by the shortest road: A1 to Ambepussa, A6 to Kurunegala, then the A10 through Galgamuwa to Anuradhapura. At 45 km/h that is roughly 4 hours 33 minutes. The route via Puttalam (A3/A12) is slightly longer at about 207 km.

Is the Southern Expressway shorter than the coastal road to Galle?

In kilometres they are close — both around 119 km in this tool. The expressway wins on time, not distance: it is grade-separated and faster, so the same trip takes roughly half as long. Pick "Fastest" to route over the E01, or "Shortest" to stay on the toll-free A2.

Are these distances official?

The town-to-town distances come from the Road Development Authority (RDA) inter-city road schedule, cross-checked against the Survey Department road network for towns not in the RDA point-to-point table. Headline pairs such as Colombo–Kandy (115 km) and Colombo–Galle (119 km) reproduce the official figures exactly.

How accurate is the drive-time estimate?

The distance is authoritative; the time is an editorial estimate. It assumes free-flowing average speeds — 90 km/h on expressways and 45 km/h on A-class roads — and does not account for traffic, road works, weather or hill-climb grades. Treat it as a planning baseline, then add a margin. You can override the speed with your own figure.

Why is my exact village not listed?

This first version covers about 55 major towns — all 25 district capitals plus key junction and transit towns. Distances to smaller places are usually the distance to the nearest listed town plus a short local leg. More towns will be added from the same RDA schedule over time.

Can I estimate the fuel or bus cost of the trip?

Yes. Once you have a distance, the "Estimate the cost of this trip" links pass it through to our Fuel Cost, Bus Fare, Train Fare, Three-Wheeler Fare and Expressway Toll calculators so you can cost the exact journey without retyping the kilometres.

Sri Lanka · Travel

Sri Lanka Road Distance Calculator

Find the road distance and an estimated drive time between any two major Sri Lankan towns. Compare the shortest toll-free route with the fastest expressway route, see the exact roads used, and carry the distance straight into our fuel, bus, train and toll calculators. No signup, sources cited.

By Induwara Ashinsana— Executive Director, Ryzera TechnologiesUpdated Jun 10, 2026

Find the road distancebetween Sri Lankan towns

RDA distances · 2026

From

Route preference

FastestAllows expressways (E01/E03) — may add km, cuts timeShortestToll-free A/B roads only — fewest kilometres

Average speed override (optional)

km/h

Leave blank for the model defaults (expressway 90, A-class 45 km/h).

Popular routes

Road distance

115 km

Est. drive time

2 h 33 min

Toll-free roads

Fastest route uses

Route breakdown

Leg	Road	Distance
Colombo → Kadawatha	A1	13 km
Kadawatha → Nittambuwa	A1	19 km
Nittambuwa → Ambepussa	A1	24 km
Ambepussa → Warakapola	A1	5 km
Warakapola → Kegalle	A1	17 km
Kegalle → Mawanella	A1	14 km
Mawanella → Kandy	A1	23 km
Total road distance		115 km

Estimate the cost of this 115 km trip

Fuel cost Bus fare Train fare Three-wheeler Expressway toll

Distances are based on the Road Development Authority (RDA) inter-city road schedule. Drive times are free-flow estimates from road-class average speeds — real journeys vary with traffic, weather and hill-climb sections. Sources cited below.

How it works

The calculator models Sri Lanka's inter-city road network as a graph: about 55 major towns are the nodes, and Road Development Authority (RDA) road segments are the weighted edges, measured in kilometres. The road distance between any two towns is the shortest total along that graph, found with Dijkstra's algorithm.

Distance. Officially tabulated RDA point-to-point distances (for example Colombo–Kandy 115 km) are reproduced exactly by their segment chains, so those pairs return the official figure. Other pairs are summed across the RDA segments on the shortest path.
Route preference.“Shortest” minimises kilometres over toll-free A and B roads only. “Fastest” additionally allows the E-class expressways (Southern Expressway E01, Colombo–Katunayake E03) and minimises time, which can add a few kilometres but cut the drive time. The option you do not pick is shown as a comparison.
Drive time.Time is the sum of each segment's distance divided by its road-class average speed: time = Σ(segment_km ÷ class_speed). The class speeds are an editorial estimate for free-flowing conditions — 90 km/h on expressways, 45 km/h on A-class roads, 35 km/h on B-class roads — not an RDA figure. A speed you type in overrides every class.
Verification. The graph is cross-checked against the RDA point-to-point schedule. Colombo–Kandy (115 km), Colombo–Galle (119 km), Colombo–Kurunegala (94 km), Colombo–Anuradhapura (205 km), Colombo–Ratnapura (101 km) and Kandy–Nuwara Eliya (73 km) all reconcile to the kilometre.

Distances are authoritative; drive times are clearly labelled as estimates because real journeys depend on traffic, weather, road works and hill-climb grades that no static table can capture. The RDA segment table was last cross-checked on 2026-06-10.

Worked examples

Colombo → Kandy (Shortest)

115 km · 2 h 33 min

Route: A1 via Kadawatha, Nittambuwa, Ambepussa, Kegalle, Mawanella.
Segments: 13 + 19 + 24 + 5 + 17 + 14 + 23 = 115 km (matches the RDA figure).
Time: all A-class at 45 km/h → 115 ÷ 45 = 2.5556 h.
0.5556 h × 60 ≈ 33 min → 2 h 33 min.

Colombo → Galle (Fastest vs Shortest)

119 km · 1 h 23 min (expressway)

Fastest: Southern Expressway E01 = 113 km, then 6 km A2 link into Galle = 119 km.
Time: 113 ÷ 90 + 6 ÷ 45 = 1.2556 + 0.1333 = 1.3889 h → 1 h 23 min (toll applies).
Shortest: coastal A2 = 18+9+16+20+20+17+19 = 119 km, all A-class.
Time: 119 ÷ 45 = 2.6444 h → 2 h 39 min (toll-free, but slower).

Colombo → Anuradhapura (Shortest)

205 km · 4 h 33 min

Route: A1 to Ambepussa (56 km), A6 to Kurunegala (+38 = 94 km), A10 via Galgamuwa.
Segments to Anuradhapura: 94 + 52 + 59 = 205 km, summed across RDA segments.
Time: all A-class at 45 km/h → 205 ÷ 45 = 4.5556 h → 4 h 33 min.
A multi-segment shortest path for a pair not in the point-to-point table.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references

Road distances were last cross-checked against the RDA inter-city schedule on 2026-06-10. Drive-time speeds are an editorial estimate, not an RDA figure. Found a distance that looks off? Email me with the town pair and I'll check it against the schedule.

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Comments & feedback

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