Historical Places

TOOTH RELIC IN KANDY (DALADA MALIGAWA)

The temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy - Sri Lanka is considered the foremost sacred place of worship in the Buddhist. Build in the 16th century this temple house the sacred. Tooth Relic of the Buddha brought to Sri Lanka from the Kalinga province in ancient India in the 4th century AD. 




PERADENIYA BOTANICAL GARDEN IN KANDY

Peradeniya Botanical garden, the finest of its kind in Asia, the largest of the three botanical gardens in the island, couldn’t be better located. In the Mediterranean climate of kandy. The gateway to the central highlands, the Gardens was bounded on three sides by a loop of river Mahaweli.

KATARAGAMA DEWALAYA

Kataragama god is a combination of two spiritual gods. Kadira Deva and Skanda Kumar worshiped as one god. The other most breath taking event performed at Kataragama is the fire walking. Fire working is done by the day previous to the conclusion of the great Perahara in which the image of the god is taken to the temple of Valli Amma to symbolize his reunion with the sensuous Valli Amma.

 

ADAM’S PEAK

There are many legends attaching this mountain (2224m), which is sacred to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Islams. There is a giant footprint carved at the summit. Which the Buddhists aver is that of the lord Buddha. This is way they refer to the mountain as Sri Pada (sacred footprint). There is another theory: that the foot print is that of Adam (hence Adam’s Peak) and marks the place where he first placed his foot on earth, after he and Eva were banished from Heaven. The Peak has been a place of pilgrimage for all the faiths, for thousands of year and regardless of ones’ religious persuasion, sunrise, at the summit, is an awesome experience.

 DAMBULU VIHARAYA

The cave-temple back to the 1st century BC. When king Valagambahu was driven out of Anuradhapura and took refuge here. When he regained his throne, he converted the cave into a temple. There are five separates caves, most of every available surface being printed with the likeness of the Buddha, of the coming of Buddhism to Sri Lanka, of various kings and their meritorious deeds, great battles and Hindu deities. There are also several statues of great antiquity. Maharaja Vihara (cave 2) is quite the most spectacular, measuring 52m from east to west and 23m from the back wall. The roof is 7m at the highest point.

LANKATHILAKA VIHARAYA

Built by King Parakramabahu, and later restored by Vijayabahu IV, this dramatic brick building was once five story’s high and embellished with flowers, creepers, animals, birds and statues of gods. The two gigantic columns at the entrance, now broken to a highest of 58 ft., must originally have been at least double that height. The cathedral-like aisle leads to a standing Buddha statue, now headless, which was 41 ft., tall. The extenior

Walls are ornamented with delicate sculpture which depicts various buildings of the Polonnaruwa era. In front of the Lankathilaka is a pillared ‘mandapaya’ with 40 stone chaste-ornamented pillars.

ISURUMUNIYA LOVERS

Isurumuniya temple, in Anuradhapura, built in the 3^rd century BC, was the first repository of the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha. It was originally calls Meghagiri Vihara or the Shrine of the Clouded Mountain. The temple is known best for its rock carvings, the most popular being ‘The Lovers’. There many theories offered as to their identity. The style of the sculpture resembles the Gupta Art of India. The lovers, therefore, may have been carved in the 5^th century.

THE SAMADHI BUDDA STATUE

Considered one of the greatest pieces of sculptural art of the early period, this statue shows the Buddha in a state of deep meditation. Said to date back to the 4^th century, the Samadhi statue is possibly at least one century older and is widely acknowledged to be a masterpiece of Sinhalese sculpture.