Trincomalee is of significance for Sri Lanka’s history because of its natural harbour. Today, it’s the capital of the Eastern Province. However, among Hindus from Sri Lanka and India, Trincomalee is most famous for ist Thirukoneshwaram Kovil, one of the major Shiva temples of Sri Lanka and South India. Destroyed by the Portuguese, the temple was newly built under British colonial rule. It attracts Hindu pilgrims from all over the world. Although the architecture is modern, the temple is also an imortant destination for heritage tourists, because it is spectacularly located on a kind of cape called Swami rock, a narrow promontory rising high above the sea.

The Aluvihare Temple near Matale is said to have been the location of the 4th Theravada Buddhist Council, which for the first time layed down the Pali Canon of the Holy Scriptures in written form to preserve it for future generations. A museum for palm leaf writings is attached to the ancient temple. The caves have typical Kandyan paintings. A newly decorated cave has gaudy illustrations of hell punishments like a chamber of horrors. Another cave is believed to have been the abode of Buddhaghosa, Church Father of Theravada Buddhism, who lived in the 5th century AD. He is the most famous commentator of the Tipitaka, the Buddhist Holy Scriptures. A stairway along his cave lead to the top of a rock, which is crowned by a small stupa. This is an excellent vantage point overlooking the rocks of the Aluvihare Temple and the surroundings of Matale. The name of the temple, which is situated close to the Kandy-Dambulla-Jaffna road A9, is also spelt Aluviharaya or Aluvihara.

Today, Nallur is the northeastern suburb of Jaffna city, but in a sense Nallur is the ancient Jaffna, as it was the residence and temple town of the Tamil kings during the period of the Jaffna kingdom in the late Middle Ages and early Modern Age. The Portuguese Christians destroyed the major Hindu temple and erected a church on the original site. However, the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil – dedicated to the highly venerated Tamil deity Murugan, as the name „Kanda“ for „Skanda“ indicates – was reconstructed in the 19th century 1.5 km further west and again has become the spiritual centre and main sanctuary of Tamil Hindus on the Jaffna Peninsula. Besides the impressive temple, built in the the typical Dravidian style, remnants of palaces of the ate Jaffna kings can also be seen in Nallur.

Find our comprehensive article on Nallur and ist attractions here...

Dova rock temple, situated at the Badulu Oya between Bandarawela and Ella, is the only place in the highlands where a large rock-cut Buddha statue can be found. It is unfinished and weathered, but well recognizable. Dova is an ancient rock temple in the first place. The painted caves are somewhat gaudy, but include many traditional motivs of Kandy paintings and dozens of Buddha statues. The Dova rock temple is said to be fiunded in King Valagambha's era. The Dova temple also owns a Bo-Tree terrace and two ancient stupas, one of which is situated inside the rock temple as mentioned earlier. More about Dova rock temple here...

Access to the archaeological zone of Anuradhapura is only permitted with a valid ticket. An exception from this rule is a visit of the area to the south of the B234 road, which runs just to the south of Mirisaveti Dagoba and the Sacred Bo Tree. There are several archaeological sites in Anuradhapura South. Except from Isurumuniya, which charges a separate entry free not included in the Anuradhapura ticket, all sites are open to the public free of charge. That’s why we recommend to use the Anuradhapura ticket for a full day in the central and northern part of the archaeological park, comprising Ruwanweliseya, Abhayagiri and citadel in particular, whereas the historical sites in southern Anuradhapura can be visited without additional charges on another half-day excursion. Besides the ancient Tissa Wewa tank, there are four archaeological sites in Anuradhapura South which can count as places of interest for cultural tours.

The Dakkhina Dagaba, which translates to „southern stupa“ is a medium-sized brick monument not restaured in a modern fashion, although it is a sacred site of historic significance for Sinhalese people, as it is believed to be the tomb of Dutugemunu (Dutthagamani), the national hero. It was considered to be the tomb of his Tamil opponent Elara by earlier archaeologists. Actually, the site could have been the place where the two opponents faught the decisive duel ending with the defeat and death of Elara. The stone pillars surrounding the stupa of Dakkhina Dagaba carry some typical carvings from the Anuradhapura period, such as a depiction of Kubera, the deity of wealth.

Not far away from Dakkhina Dagoba is the rock temple of Isurumuniya, which is the most-visited site in Anuradhapura South. It’s a remarkable sanctuary for various reasons. This sacred site seems to have been heavily influenced by local cults and by Hinduism. It is now famous for ist rock carvings many of which are excellent works of art and some of which are quite unique. The depiction of a loving couple, now on display in the museum attached to Isurumuniya Temple, is very famous in Sri Lanka. It is said to represent Prince Saliya and his girlfriend Ashokamala, the Romeo and Juliette of ancient Sri Lanka. A man with a horse behind him is a quite enigmatic relief just beside the main rock shrine. At the foot of the rock is a pond. Here you can see carvings depicting bathing elephants.

Just north to the famous Isurumuniya temple is Ranmasu Uyana, the „Goldfish Park“, which is a less crowded side. Is was a rock boulder garden with some artificial ponds already in ancient times and the atmophere is pleasant till the present day. It’s said to be the place where Saliya and Ashokamala fell in love. Excellent elephant carvings can be seen here, too. A little bit hidden is a very extrordinary relief depicting a kind of spiritual map. It’s the oldest map in South Asia. Modern esoterics believe that it is a star gate allowing you to get access to other planets. So be careful not to disappear from our earth when visiting this place.

To the south of Isurumuniya is another rock temple which once served as a Buddhist monastery. It’s called Vessagiriya now. You will find lots of rock shelters with ancient inscriptions in Brahmi letters and also some ruins of monastic buildings within this picturesque ensemble of boulders. Vessagiriya is one of the very few places besides Sigiriya, where traces of rock paintings from the first millennium can be seen in Sri Lanka. They are not well-preserved and not easy to detect but well worth climbing into the cave system. The best time to visit Vessagiriya is the evening, whereas the morning is definitely the best time to see the nearby Isurumuniya temple.

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy is commonly known as Tooth Temple. It’s also called Sri Dalada Maligawa by locals. It enshrines a canine of the historical Budhha Shakyamuni, one of the most venerated relics in the entire Buddhist world. Since the 4th century AD, this relic has played a major role in local ceremonies and became a kind of national palladium, as in the Middle Ages and modern period it has been believed that the holder of the  Tooth Relic is the chosen guardian of the faith and rightful ruler of the island and the city safekeeping the relic is the capital of the Buddhist nation. The Kandyan kings became the protectors of the Tooth Relic in the late 16th century. Kandy has therefore been regarded as the Sinhalese capital and the Tooth Temple formed a part of the royal palace.

The buildings of the Tooth Relic Temple in Kandy are mainly from the late 18th century, except from the wooden hall in the very centre, which keeps the Sacred Tooth and is crowned by a gilded canopy. This hall is from the 17th century, its two storeys are known as "Palle malaya" (lower floor) and "Udu malaya" (upper floor) or "Weda hitina maligawa". The entire complex of the Tooth Relic Temple together with the nearby Hindu Devales is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The best times to visit the temple are the three daily puja ceremonies. Foreign guests are welcome to join the celebrations taking place mainly in front of the upper floor of the wooden hall, if they are dressed properly and behave in a respectful way. Taking pictures of the ceremonies is permitted.

Asked where to see the best instances of classical Sri Lankan woodcarvings from the Kandy period, the answer has to be Ambekke Devalaya (also spelt Embekke Devale or Embekka Devalaya). The wooden hall in front of the main shrine deicated to Lord Kataragama (alias Murugan alias Skanda) is younger than the inner sanctum, which is from the Gampola period (14th century), built by the King Vikramabahu III. The wood of the front hall is said to have come from the audience hall of the abandoned royal palace in Gampola. The hall now famous for the wood carvings at its pillars is a so-called Digge, which translates to drummers hall. It was in a Digge that dancing rituals were performed. The splendid wood carvings depict typical scenes of later Kandyan art and also some extraordinary sujets such as a Portuguese soldier on a horse. The Ambekke Devalaya is a combined Hindu and Buddhist shrine, with a separate shrine dedicated to Lord Buddha. The small village of Ambekke surrounding the temple is still famous for woodcarving manufacturing. Day-excursions from Kandy usually combine a visit of Embekke with detours to the nearby Gampola-period temples of Lankatilaka and Gadaladeniya.

Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya, simply known as Kelaniya Temple, is the most important Buddhist place of worship in Sri Lanka’s Western Province. Kelaniya is a suburb of Colombo, situated on the opposite side of the Kelaniya river. The ancient Pali names of the temple, the town and the river is Kalyani. This name is well known from the history of Myanmar (Burma), as it remembers the most significant monastic reform in Myanmar’s Buddhist order. In the 15th century a new line of ordination was introduced by Southeastasian monks having received higher ordination in Kelaniya.

The temple flourished during the Kotte era in the 15th century, when the Sinhalese capital shifted to the area of Colombo for the first time. But Kelaniya, like most temples in the coastal plains of Sri Lanka, was destroyed by the Portuguese invaders who promoted Christianity in a violent way. Today’s temple at the historical site is from the late 19th century. The main shrine is an image house. It’s famous for it’s murals, some of them are in the Kandyan style, large paintings are from Solias Mendis, Sri Lanka’s most important artist in the first half of the 20th century.     

The Kelaniya sanctuary attracts Buddhist and Hindu worshippers alike. The place is said to have been hallowed by a visit of Lord Buddha at the beginning of his third and final stay on the island. Even earlier on, the demon Vibhishana, brother and successor of the mythical King Ravana, took his residence in Kelaniya. He was rewarded with the kingship by Lord Rama, whom he helped to liberate his wife Sita from captivity in Ravana’s kingdom. This story is told in the Indian Ramayana epic. Vibhishana became the guardian deity of the west of the island. He is also venerated by Sinhalese Buddhists. The Vibhishana temple just in front of the main shrine of Kelaniya attracts pilgrims from India, too.

About 25 km northwest of Kurunegala, on the way to Yapahuwa and Anuradhapura, is the village of Padeniya. Close to the main junction is a the temple called Padeniya Rajamaha Viharaya, which is one of the few lowland temples in the Kandyan style. The main image house has a unique frieze of lion sculptures and 28 wooden pillars, which carry some of the best carvings in the Kandyan style you can find outside the highlands. In Kurunegala District, only Panavitiya has more elaborate wood carvings than Padeniya. Furthermore, there is a clay building serving as a library.

Asked where are the best examples of classical Kandy paintings, the answer must be Dambulla, of course. Concerning the beauty of the painted caves, Ridigama comes second. However, high quality Kandy paintings second only to Dambulla, we assume, can be seen in Degaldoruwa. The cave temple of Degaldoruwa Rajamaha Viharaya is located only 4 km north of the Mahaweli Bridge to the east of Kandy (Mahiyangana Road), where the Earl’s Regence, Kandy’s most renowned 5-star-hotel, is situated, too. Nonetheless, Degaldoruwa is still not a crowded destination. Sometimes it’s difficult to find someone in charge of the key to open the caves. The murals are breathtaking. Some paintings can be found at the rock surface of the inner shrine room, which is the Degaldoruwa cave in a more narrow sense. The most amazing Paintings illustrating Jataka stories can be seen at the wall in front of the inner shrine room, which is called Buduge.  Several elements are portrayed in great detail, particularly the garments and adornments.

The construction of the Degaldoruwa Rajamaha Viharaya in it’s final form commenced in 1771 under the famous King Kirti Sri Rajasingha and was completed under his successor Rajadhi Rajasingha. A monk by name Moratota Dhammakkanda Maha Nayaka Thera, who was the king’s teacher and advisor, was in charge of the Degaldoruwa temple. Four artists are credited with painting the Degaldoruwa murals, their. The name of the craft of painters decorating caves and temples during the Kandyan period is Sitaras.