Shtripura Caves - rarely visited Ramayana Site
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Shtripura (also transcribed Istripura, Sthreepura, Sthri Pura) means "Woman's City". The name is believed to refer Sita, the consort of Rama, who is saif to have dwelt here for a while after having been captivated by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Therefore, Stripura caves are venerated as a Ramayana site.
Though the remote tea plantation area is ptetty idyllic, Shtripura Caves can not be considered a must-see, except for those seeking for a caving opportunity. The caves are very narrow but deep and partly interlinked. This is definitely not a cave adventure for persons suffering from claustrophobia. You cannot enter them without climbing and cannot explore them without torches and should not enter them without helmets. A local guide is a must. Such a true cave system, though not a dripstone cave, is rare in Sri Lanka. Usually, locations called "caves" in Sri Lanka are not underground tunnels, but they are actually rock shelters, called abris in archaeology. In contrast, Ishtripura Caves are real caves, though not spectacular ones. The caves are formed in a layer of saprolite sandwiched between layers of quartzite. Saprolite is a kind of stone, which is a result of weathering in a humis climate. When weathering further, it becomes laterite.
The Shtripura Caves, not to be confused with Sthreepura Cave at Batathota or Holombuwa Sthri Pura Gal Len Viharaya in the hinterlands of the western coast if Sri Lanka, are located at the northern slope of an isolated in of the hamlet Kiriwanagama in Badulla District. The location 5 km (3 miles) west of Lunuwatta by road. The last half kilometer is a steep and bumpy dirt road not manageable for tuctucs. The road distance of Shtripura caves to Welimada is 16 km /10 miles). The B471 road from Welimada via Lunuwatta further north becomes a mountain road climbing to the tea region of Uda Pussellawa.
Though the remote tea plantation area is ptetty idyllic, Shtripura Caves can not be considered a must-see, except for those seeking for a caving opportunity. The caves are very narrow but deep and partly interlinked. This is definitely not a cave adventure for persons suffering from claustrophobia. You cannot enter them without climbing and cannot explore them without torches and should not enter them without helmets. A local guide is a must. Such a true cave system, though not a dripstone cave, is rare in Sri Lanka. Usually, locations called "caves" in Sri Lanka are not underground tunnels, but they are actually rock shelters, called abris in archaeology. In contrast, Ishtripura Caves are real caves, though not spectacular ones. The caves are formed in a layer of saprolite sandwiched between layers of quartzite. Saprolite is a kind of stone, which is a result of weathering in a humis climate. When weathering further, it becomes laterite.
The Shtripura Caves, not to be confused with Sthreepura Cave at Batathota or Holombuwa Sthri Pura Gal Len Viharaya in the hinterlands of the western coast if Sri Lanka, are located at the northern slope of an isolated in of the hamlet Kiriwanagama in Badulla District. The location 5 km (3 miles) west of Lunuwatta by road. The last half kilometer is a steep and bumpy dirt road not manageable for tuctucs. The road distance of Shtripura caves to Welimada is 16 km /10 miles). The B471 road from Welimada via Lunuwatta further north becomes a mountain road climbing to the tea region of Uda Pussellawa.
