Shelters called Ambalamas are a characteristic element of Sri Lankan culture. Ambalamas are refuges for local farmers and for itinerant pilgrims alike. Many of them, particularly those close to temples, are built of stone. But the loveliest Ambalamas are wooden sructures. Asked, which is the best example of such a wooden Ambalama, the answer is clear: Panavitiya’s wooden hall has woodcarvings that are only second to Embekke, which is Sri Lanka‘s most famous wooden temple.

At the main road A3 in Madampe near Halavata (Chilaw) is a very colourful huge temple built by a local toddy entrepeneur and land owner. The temple known as Replica of Kataragama dedicated to Lord Murugan was opened in January 2012.

More about Madampe here...

Alahuwa, or Alawwa, as it is also spelt, is a small town at the Maha Oya river. It’s situated halfway between Colombo and Dambulla, 25 km west of the famous Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage. Alahuwa is a typical Sri Lankan city without major attractions. But on the opposite side of the river is a hidden treasure, a living forest hermitage, where a Buddhist monk lives in rock shelter like his predecessors did in ancient times. The rare visitors are welcome, if they behave respectfully. Be aware, this is a forest hermitage for a life in meditation. Simply enjoy the nature and the hospitality and don’t be noisy in this area. More...

Wilpattu is Sri Lanka’s oldest and largest national park. Besides Yala, it has the highest density of leopard population in the world. Our guests in First House Mihintale can join Wilpattu safaris. We highly recommend to start very early in the morning. Morning safaris or full-day safaris in the national park can also be arranged for our round tour guests who spend the night before in Nocchiyagama near the main gate of the park or in Kalpitiya near Puttalam or in Anuradhapura. For those travellers starting in the morning from Negombo or Colombo, we can arrange afternoon safaris. All safaris will include observations at the namegiving villus, large waterholes in the very centre of the park inhabited by mugger crocodiles and attracting wildlife. Full day safaris will visit the coastline additionally.

Find more information about Wilpattu National Park here...

Nillakgama is a very small archaeological site, 55 km south of Anuradhapura and 10 km east of Galgamuwa by road. It’s not an amazing must-see. However, the off-the-beaten-track destination of Nillakgama is somwhat special, since the small ancient temple is the best-preserved Bodhigara, some say, the only one, because there are only foundations left of all other Bodhigaras that were excavated in Sri Lanka. Prior to the discovery of Nillakgama, the existence of Bodhigaras was only known from ancient Buddhist literature and from drawings at the railings of the earliest Buddhist stupas. A Bodhigara is a temple for tree worship. The object of veneration was not a relic or Buddha image, but a tree planted on an altar in the centre, which grow through an opening in the roof. The tree does not exist any more in Nillakgama. But the specifiv architecture and some extraordinary decoration can be studied at this hidden gem.

Read our detailed report about Nillakgama here...

Yapahuwa between Kurunegala and Anuradhapura is famous for Sri Lanka’s most ornate ancient stairway with excellent sculptural decorations. Due to the location of the former fortified city at and on a rock, Yapahuwa is sometimes called “Sri Lanka’s second Sigiriya”. Actually, it could be also called a “Little Dambulla”, because a typical Sinhalese cave temple with paintings and sculptures from the Kandyan period can be seen on ground level. The monastery, reestablished by Kandy’s King Rajadhi Rajasinha in the late 18th century, is called Yapawwa Raja Maha Viharaya, Yapawwa being the more accurate but less known transliteration of Yapahuwa. The living monastery actually is highly important for safekeeping and maintaining the entire archaeological site in Yapahuwa. When asked for the key, the monks or helpers are usually very kind to allow visitors to enter the main cave temple. The roofed front room of the main image hall and Buddhist cave is gaudily painted. But historical paintings and sculptures can be found in the main cave of Yappawa Rajamaha Vihara.The murals in the caves are mainly from the 18th century and restored with additional blue colour much later, presumably as late as in the second half of the 20th century. But traces of earlier paintings can be found. And the typical themes of the Kandyan paintings were not changed during the restoration. The main shrine in the rear of the cave has a large sitting Buddha and a bronze sculpture from the late 13th century, the period when Yapahuwa was Sri Lanka’s capital.

Yapahuwa is a multi-faceted heritage attraction in a magnificent natural setting, a historical site representing various periods  of history, with monastic cave dwellings and a stupa from the  Anuradhapura period, a fortified city and palace and tooth temple from the Middle Ages and a Kandyan temple. If you come to visit this less-crowded place of interest and have enough time, don’t miss to visit the living monastery and its Kandyan cave temple, too.


Our Yapahuwa main page provides much more detailed descriptions of all the attractions of the rock and citadel and temple. But please understand and excuse: It could take some time to load the page, due to the high number of comparitively large images. To see them, please click here...