Salgala - genuine Sri Lankan cave temple of reclusive monks

Salgala is an ancient cave monastery consisting of 18 rock shelters. It is believed to have been the main refuge of King Walagamba during his years in exile. In contrast to many other cave temples, it was not transformed into a place of image worship during the Kandyan period. Since the monastery, neglected for centuries, was revived in 1930, the remote Salgala Aranya Senasayana has become a perfect example of the genuine spirit of a small congregations of hermits who inhabited such groups of natural rock shelters already in the early Buddhist period of Sri Lanka. It houses selected forest monks and serves ad a meditation center of guests monks periodically. In order to prevent the hermits from being disturbed, visitors are permitted only during morning. After 1 pm, the forest is not open to the public and reserved for the monks.