Kadugannawa is a town in Kandy District in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council.

The tunnel is said to have been created to fulfil an old Sinhalese prophecy that there is no way for foreigners to rule Kandy unless they pierce the mountains.

The British were the first foreign power to occupy Kandy permanently.

Regrettably, this nice story is disputed, as the Kurunegala tunnel is claimed to have been constructed earlier (in 1823) to fulfil the prophetic saying.

[2] Under the direction of William Francis Dawson the first modern highway Colombo - Kandy Road was built in 1820 and William Francis Dawson died before the completion of the project.