Veheragala and its Mayahanist golden sculptures

Veheragala is a living Buddhist monastery to the east of Mihintale. It has a stupa on an outcrop and a colourful cave temple in a rock shelter. Veheragala was the finding place of Sri Lanka’s greatest treasure of ancient golden Mahayanist sculptures. Most of them are on display in the National Mueseum in Colombo. The most famous statue, a seated Avalokiteshvara, became a kind of emblem of the Cultural Triangle. A copy can be seen in the small museum of the Veheragala Vihara, besides other excavated artefacts. You should be aware, that the key to the one-room-museum is not in the monastery but with the archaeological department. Hence, the rare visitor should give an advance notification to make sure he can enter the museum.

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