Building sights in Sri Lanka
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil
Approximately 2km northeast of the centre, the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is the most impressive religious building in Jaffna and one of the most significant Hindu temple complexes in Sri Lanka. Its sacred deity, Murugan (or Skanda), is central to temple activity, especially during the punctual, cacophonic pujas (5am, 10am, noon, 4pm and 5pm), when offerings are made to his brass-framed image and other Hindu deities like Ganesh, Murugan’s elephant-headed brother, in shrines surrounding the inner sanctum.
The kovil’s 15th-century structure fell victim to Portuguese destructive ruthlessness in the 17th century; the current one dates from 1734. Its beautifully maintained…
reviewed
-
St Anthony's Church
One of the city’s most interesting shrines is St Anthony’s Church. Outside it looks like a typical Portuguese Catholic church, but inside the atmosphere is distinctly subcontinental. There are queues of devotees offering puja(offerings or prayers) to a dozen ornate statues; a statue of St Anthony said to be endowed with miraculous qualities is the centre of devotions. Mothers often bring pubescent daughters here to pray for protection from evil spirits that might take advantage of the girls’ nascent sexuality. Photography is frowned upon.
reviewed
-
B
Sri Kailawasanathar Swami Devasthanam
Reportedly the oldest Hindu temple in Colombo, the Sri Kailawasanathar Swami Devasthanam has shrines to Shiva and Ganesh.
During the harvest festival of Thai Pongal (held in January) devotees flock to Hindu temples, which become even more colourful and lively.
reviewed
-
St Lucia's Cathedral
The enormous, late-19th-century St Lucia’s Cathedral lies in the Catholic heart of the Kotahena district. The biggest church in Sri Lanka, it can hold up to 5000 worshippers. The interior is plain but the immense domed mass of the church is impressive.
reviewed
-
C
Vajiraramaya Temple
The Vajiraramaya Temple has been a centre of Buddhist learning since 1901. From here monks have taken the Buddha's message to Western countries, and on Sundays the complex is thronged with thousands of children taking Buddhism school.
reviewed
-
D
St Peter's Church
Converted from the Dutch governor’s banquet hall, it was first used as a church in 1804.
reviewed
-
E
Old Town Hall
Colombo's white-domed Old Town Hall overlooks Viharamahadevi Park from the northeast.
reviewed