Faxian Cave

Faxian Cave is a rarely visited temple and archaeological site in Kalutara District, to the north of Sinharaja Rain Forest. The Sinhala translation of Faxian (Fa Hsien) is „Pahiyan“, the rock is therefore alson known as „Pahiyangala“. The cave is named after the famous Buddhist scholar and pilgrim Faxian from China, who also visited Sri Lanka and studied in Anuradhapura. He is said to have spent some months in the cave when he visited the Holy Mountain Siri Pada (Adam’s Peak). Pahiyangala is of utmost archaeological significance, as it is the finding place of 33,000 years old human fossilized skeletal remains of the Balangoda culture from the Late Pleistocene.

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