Kurunegala is essentially a beautiful and busy ‘junction’ town, as it would have been called in its colonial heyday. It acts as a crossover or interchange point between your important Sri Lankan destinations of Colombo and Anuradhapura or even Kandy and Puttalam. Although off the beaten track, you will find that Kurunegala has its own little box of history and scenic landscapes to share. The town is tucked into a pretty little valley with a lake at the edge of town, encircled by a ring of ancient rocks. Most of these rocks are believed to represent animals. If you stare at them hard enough, you may even discover rock shapes of elephants, lions and tortoises! Although Kurunegala had served as a medieval capital of Sinhala for nearly half a century, not much remains of its medieval palaces or royal pavilions.