Balapitiya is a coastal area in south west Sri Lanka. It is located in the Southern Province in Sri Lanka. It is the nearest city to the famous Maduganga River. The Maduganga river is a shallow water body in south-west Sri Lanka, which enters the sea at Balapitiya. The Buddhist Amarapura Nikaya sect had its first upasampada (higher ordination ceremony) on a fleet of boats anchored upon it in 1803.