Sights in Sri Lanka
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Mavira Thuyilim Illam
LTTE martyrs are recognised in numerous Jaffna-area memorials, one common motif of which is a helmet on an upturned gun. Most were damaged, desecrated or destroyed in 1995, when Jaffna was retaken by the SLA, but after 2002 many were patched up or rebuilt.
Perhaps the most sobering is the Mavira Thuyilim Illam (Martyrs’ Sleeping House) at Kopay, just beyond the city’s northeastern limits. Around 2000 grave markers in neat rows commemorate Tiger cadres killed in action; the majority (the smaller memorials) are for Tigers whose bodies have not been retrieved. The movingly understated box of older tombstone shards commemorates the 1995 SLA bulldozing of the original…
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Dunhinda Falls
Five kilometres north of Badulla are the 63m-high Dunhinda Falls. The best time to see them is June and July, but they’re worth a visit at any time. It’s a good spot for a picnic, but keep an eye out for light-fingered monkeys. Buses leave every 30 minutes from Badulla (Rs 30). From the bus stop the falls are about 1km along a clearly defined path. It’s a bit of a scramble, so wear suitable shoes. You can see a lower waterfall on the walk, and there’s a good observation spot at the end of the path. There are many snack places along the trail. Avoid public holidays and weekends, when the place can get packed. A three-wheeler from Badulla costs Rs 500 for the return…
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Isurumuniya Vihara
This rock temple, dating from the reign of Devanampiya Tissa (r 247–207 BC), has some very fine carvings. One or two of these (including one of elephants playfully splashing water) remain in their original place on the rock face beside a square pool fed from the Tissa Wewa, but most of them have been moved into a small museum within the temple. Best known of the sculptures is the ‘lovers’, which dates from around the 5th century AD and is built in the artistic style of the Indian Gupta dynasty of the 4th and 5th centuries.
South of the Isurumuniya Vihara are extensive remains of the Vessagiriya cave monastery complex, which dates from much the same time.
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Mirisavatiya Dagoba
Mirisavatiya Dagoba is one of three very interesting sites that can be visited in a stroll or ride along the banks of the Tissa Wewa. This huge dagoba, the first built by Dutugemunu after he captured the city, is across the road from the Tissawewa Rest House. The story goes that Dutugemunu went to bathe in the tank, leaving his ornate sceptre implanted in the bank. When he emerged he found his sceptre, which contained a relic of the Buddha, impossible to pull out. Taking this as an auspicious sign, he had the dagoba built. To its northeast was yet another monks’ refectory, complete with the usual huge stone troughs into which the faithful poured boiled rice.
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Moonstone Mines
Have you ever wondered where that pretty little moonstone on your finger actually comes from? Head inland 7km to Mitiyagoda and you can descend (not literally) into the mucky world of mining – 18th-century style! Moonstone has been mined in these sweltering forests forever and the moonstone mines, little more than muddy rabbit holes, 6m or 7m long, are fascinating – as is the process of filtering out the precious stones, cutting them up and polishing them up ready for sale. Entrance is free, but expect a hardcore sales pitch in the on-site shop afterwards. To get there head towards Kahawa and turn inland to Mitiyagoda after which it’s clearly signed.
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Wolvendaal Church
The 1749 Wolvendaal Church is the most important Dutch building in Sri Lanka. When the church was built, this area was a wilderness beyond the city walls. The Europeans mistook the packs of roaming jackals for wolves, and the area became known as Wolf’s Dale, or Wolvendaal in Dutch. The church is in the form of a Greek cross, with walls 1.5m thick, but the real treasure is its Dutch furniture. The Dutch governors had a special pew made with elegant carved ebony chairs, and the workmanship in the wooden pulpit, baptismal font and lectern is just as beautiful. The stone floor includes the elaborate tombstones of five Dutch governors.
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Archaeological Museum
The Archaeological Museum is first class. It’s designed so that you walk from one end to the other, passing through a series of rooms, each dedicated to a particular theme: the citadel, the outer city, the monastery area and the periphery, and Hindu monuments. The latter room contains a wonderful selection of bronzes. Of particular interest are the scale models of buildings, including the vatadage (circular relic house), which show how they might have looked in their heyday – if you follow the theory that they once had wooden roofs. To enter, you’ll need a current round ticket or a one-day ticket. It’s worth visiting.
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Northern Ruins
You will need a bicycle or other transport to comfortably explore these very spread-out ruins, which are all north of the city wall. They include the Gal Vihara, probably the most famous and beautiful group of Buddha images in Sri Lanka, and the Alahana Pirivena monastic group, which is the subject of a Cultural Triangle restoration project. The Alahana Pirivena group consists of the Rankot Vihara, Lankatilaka, Kiri Vihara, Buddha Seema Prasada and the other structures around them.
The name of the group means 'crematory college', since it stood in the royal cremation grounds established by Parakramabahu.
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Tivanka Image House
Polonnaruwa's northern road ends at Tivanka Image House. This spectacular image house is, like the Lotus Pond, one of the few surviving structures of the Jetavanarama monastery. Its name means 'thrice bent', and refers to the fact that the Buddha image within is in a three-curve position normally reserved for female statues.
The building is notable for the carvings of energetic dwarfs cavorting around the outside, and for the fine frescoes within - the only Polonnaruwa murals to have survived. Some of these date from a later attempt by Parakramabahu III to restore Polonnaruwa, but others are much older.
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Kuttam Pokuna
The swimming pool–like Twin Ponds, the finest bathing tanks in Anuradhapura, are east of Sanghamitta Mawatha. They were likely used by monks from the monastery attached to Abhayagiri Dagoba. Although they are referred to as twins, the southern pond, which is 28m in length, is smaller than the 40m-long northern pond. Water entered the larger pond through the mouth of a makara (mythical multispecies beast) and then flowed to the smaller pond through an underground pipe. Note the five-headed cobra figure close to the makara and the water-filter system at the northwestern end of the ponds.
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Jaffna Archaeological Museum
This unkempt but interesting museum is hidden away at the end of a messy garden behind a cubic concrete events hall that looks rather like a masonic lodge. Asking for directions may elicit odd responses since most locals don’t think of or refer to it as a museum. At the door are a rusty pair of Dutch cannons from the fort and a set of whale bones. Inside, the most interesting items are 11th-century Buddha torsos found at Kantarodai, a poorly conserved life-sized portrait of Queen Victoria and the 1845 palanquin of Point Pedro’s mudiyalar (district governor). He must have been very small.
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Maha Saman Devale
The Maha Saman Devale, 4km west of the city, is an architectural treasure well worth visiting. Perched on a small hill, it has a handsome series of broad courtyards and multiroofed, whitewashed pavilions in the Kandyan style. Originally built in the 13th century, the temple was destroyed by the Portuguese and then rebuilt during Dutch colonial times. The main sanctuary is dedicated to Saman, while side shrines honour the Buddha and Pattini. The major festival is a perahera on Esala poya (July/August). You can take a three-wheeler from the town centre for about Rs 150.
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Ridi Vihara
Ridi Vihara, literally the 'Silver Temple', is so named because it was here that silver ore was discovered in the 2nd century BC. Although not on the usual beaten track, it's well worth a visit to see its wonderful frescoes and the unusual Dutch tiles in the main cave.
Legend has it that a king established the complex as a sign of gratitude for the discovery of silver, which allowed him to complete other construction projects. A gold-plated statue of the Buddha was erected in the cave. It's still there, as is a 9m (30ft) recumbent Buddha. Check out the nearby Upper Temple too.
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Royal Palace
Built by Vijayabahu I in the 12th century after Anuradhapura’s fall as the Sinhalese capital, this palace is indicative of the attempts made to retain at least a foothold in the old capital.
Close to it are a deep and ancient well and the Mahapali refectory, notable for its immense trough (nearly 3m long and 2m wide) that the lay followers filled with rice for the monks.
In the Royal Palace area you can also find the Dalada Maligawa, a tooth-relic temple that may have been the first Temple of the Tooth. The sacred Buddha’s tooth originally came to Sri Lanka in AD 313.
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Dutch Fort
The 6m-thick walls of Batti’s Dutch fort surround the rambling kachcheri (administrative office). The fort itself contains government offices and isn’t very interesting, but the stroll along the eastern fringe between the walls and the water is nice. By the eastern entrance gate you’ll find a couple of old canons guarding the District Secretariat Office, while inside, on the 1st floor of the office opposite the entrance gate, is a stone slab engraved with a 1707 VOC inscription; it was recently removed from the fort walls and now balances precariously on a chair.
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Aukana
According to tradition the magnificent 12m (30ft) standing Aukana Buddha was sculpted during the reign of Dhatusena in the 5th century - though some sources date it to the 12th or 13th century. Aukana means 'sun-eating', and dawn, when the first rays light up the huge statue's finely-carved features, is the best time to see it.
There's a local story that the statue is so finely carved that a drop of water would fall from its nose, without any breeze, between the Buddha's feet. There's another statue nearby, inferior and incomplete but nevertheless worth a visit.
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Tea Museum
This museum occupies the 1925-vintage Hanthana Tea Factory, 4km south of Kandy on the Hanthana road. Abandoned for over a decade, it was refurbished by the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Planters’ Association of Sri Lanka. There are exhibits on tea pioneers James Taylor and Thomas Lipton, and lots of vintage tea-processing paraphernalia. Knowledgeable guides can answer the trickiest of questions – trust us, we tried to stump them – and there’s a free cuppa afterwards in the top floor tea room. Commandeer the telescope for great views while you’re up there.
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British Garrison Cemetery
This cemetery is a short walk uphill behind the National Museum. There are 163 graves and around 500 burials. Some of the deaths were due to sunstroke, elephants or jungle fever. The Cargills of supermarket fame lie here. James McGlashan survived the battle of Waterloo but later succumbed to mosquitos. Donations are appreciated.
James McGlashan survived the battle of Waterloo but disregarded instructions given on mosquitoes, which ultimately proved deadlier.
The office, once the chapel of rest, has pamphlets and the old cemetery records.
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Nilaveli Beach
For years Nilaveli has been considered one of Sri Lanka’s most perfect beaches. It certainly has that feeling of paradise-island remoteness, with plenty of bending palms swaying over the golden sand. Good it may be, but in reality things aren’t quite as heavenly as they seem here. It’s not far from the recent front line and soldiers are everywhere, which kind of spoils the happy holidays’ mood. This is made plainly obvious in the numerous army checkpoints on the road into town and the massive military camp that sits right in the middle of the beach.
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Brazen Palace
So called because it once had a bronze roof, the ruins of the Brazen Palace stand close to the Sri Maha Bodhi tree. The remains of 1600 columns are all that is left of this huge palace, said to have had nine storeys and accommodation for 1000 monks and attendants.
It was originally built by Dutugemunu more than 2000 years ago, but through the ages was rebuilt many times, each time a little less grandiosely. The current stand of pillars (now fenced off) is all that remains from the last rebuild – that of Parakramabahu around the 12th century.
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Anuradhapura Ruins
While it’s not quite as grandiose as Burma’s Bagan or as mysterious as Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, the ruins of Anuradhapura remain one of South Asia’s most electrifying sights. The sprawling complex contains a rich collection of archaeological and architectural wonders: enormous dagobas, soaring brick towers, ancient pools and crumbling temples, built during Anuradhapura’s 1000 years of rule over Sri Lanka. Still today it’s not completely dead; in fact, several of the sites remain in use as holy places and temples; which adds some life to the place.
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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.
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Matale Heritage Centre
Located about 2km north of Matale, this heritage centre draws on the rich craft traditions of the area, producing quality batik, embroidery, carpentry and brasswork. It occupies a sprawling compound of bungalows, workshops and gardens. The centre’s Aluvihare Kitchens does meals for groups of four or more if you book by phone a day ahead; it costs Rs 900 per person for a banquet with three kinds of rice and up to 25 different curries. A three-wheeler from Matale will cost about Rs 250 return, including waiting time.
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University of Colombo
The centrepiece of the district is the 50-acre University of Colombo (also called the University of Ceylon) campus, which originally opened as the Ceylon Medical School in 1870.
Today it contains elegant tree-lined streets and the posh mansions of the wealthy and powerful, as well as the city's biggest park, several sports grounds and a cluster of museums and galleries. But the centrepiece of the Cinnamon Gardens is the 50-acre campus of the University of Colombo, which originally opened as the Ceylon Medical School in 1870.
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Seenigama Vihara
About 2km north of Hikkaduwa is the Seenigama Vihara, perched on its own island. It’s one of only two temples in the country where victims of theft can seek retribution. People who have been robbed visit the temple and buy a specially prepared oil made with chilli and pepper. With the oil they light a lamp in their homes and recite a mantra. Sooner or later, maybe within weeks, the thief will be identified when they’re struck down with misfortune, such as having a bicycle accident or being hit on the head by a falling coconut.
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