Pre-historic cave murals in Kotiyagala By Arundathie Abeysinghe   Located approximately 45 kilometers from *Monaragala in close proximity to *Lahugala and *Yala National Parks, Mailla (also known as Miyella) in Kotiyagala, (the area is famous for wild elephants and bears), the ancient Temple can be accessed through an arduous journey of six kilometers in a jungle area. The location is well-known for the Mailla cave. According to sources, this site had been discovered by a group of surveyors in 1966. In 1967, an Italian Archaeologist who arrived in Sri Lanka to restore *Sigiriya Frescoes had visited these caves and restored some murals. Yet, there is no evidence of any local authority intervening in to restore these cave murals, according to locals. Encompassing an area of several hectares from the slopes of Mailla Mountain, there are several caves in the locality including drip ledge caves, a reclining Buddha Statue 27 feet ...

Read More →

Buduruwagala Buddha Statue – tallest rock-carved statue By Arundathie Abeysinghe   The Buddha Statue at Buduruwagala Rock Carved Temple is considered as the tallest rock-carved statue in the world after the destruction of Bamiyan Buddha Statues in Afghanistan.  Situated about nine kilometers from *Wellawaya on *Thanamalwila Road (about 25 kilometers from *Ella), Buduruwagala Rock Carved Temple is a less visited place by local as well as foreign tourists. The location can be reached from a scenic road.  According to scholars, Buduruwagala means “the rock with the statue of the Buddha” as Buduruwagala is derived from Buddha (Budu), images (ruva) and stone (gala) in Sinhala. There are seven figures of the Buddha at the Temple, carved on a rock at the center of the cliff face, centered by a huge 15.3 meter Buddha Statue in Abhaya Mudra* position and there are three smaller statues on both sides. On the tallest statue ...

Read More →