Pilikuththuwa Rajamaha Viharaya

The Temple

You can reach Pilikuththuwa Temple Via Miriswatta -Colombo Kandy main road.Its about 7km from the Miriswatta junction.History of this temple runs back to the era of King Walagamba where the king was staying hidden from the Chola dynasty.People say the name Pilikuththuwa comes as this area was used to produce garments (Pili) for the king .Another story is that one of the Caves was used to store clothes of the queen and that's the reason for the name Pilikuththuwa. The ancient Dolawa  used by the King Walagamba can be seen in the premises and an ancient wooden bridge ,a water way ,a lotus pond and a small lake can be seen too.

Caves of Pilikuththuwa temple 

You can climb the stairs from the back of the temple and enter to a large forest area where the caves are situated. People say there are about 99 caves which were used by the King and the meditates. Caves are properly built making rain protective carvings (Katarang) and on each cave a stone inscriptions can be seen addressing all the wanderers saying the cave is donated for all.

Giant Vine /Pus Wala 

You meet with a giant Pus Wela/Vine (circumference is about 6 feet)along the way to the top of the mountain.

Cave Paintings 

The Vihara geya is covered with paintings of Kandyan era with a touch of Portuguese influence. 

The Forest

The forest is filled with flora where a lot of herbal varieties can be seen including a range of mushrooms as well as beautiful and colorful vines.The rocks are covered with water from springs and the wetness can be seen all over the forest flourishing all the flora.

View from the top

You can clearly see the sight of Colombo city from the top 

Travelling Tips

* Car park is there at the front of the Temple

* The path to the top of the mountain is bit difficult and dangerous at some places. 

* Can reach to the top and come back within 45 minutes time.

Dutch Fort Kalpitiya

It is situated in Kalpitiya town facing the Dutch bay. Dutch Fort was designed in 1667 and was completed in 1676 by the Dutch. Later it was handed to Portuguese and then to the English who operated the fort as a trading point. Now a Navy base is located in the premises and the historic fort is secured by the Navy. The main purpose of this buildings at that time was to operate as a fort empowering and organizing the Dutch Army. But  the main purpose was hidden under the disguise of a church which is a tactic  of the Dutch.

The Entrance to the fort is through an arc made of imported bricks and the symbol of the fort is shown on  the top of the arc which is two elephants facing each other and a palm tree in between.

The walls are built using corals and the roofs are built in an angle where the outsiders see the fort with a different angle. It is to prevent the damage that can be caused by an possible canon attack from the enemy.

Two wells are  there inside the fort to provide water to the residents. The fort can be accessed by another hidden tunnel which runs to the sea which was for the purpose of an immediate escape. An underground cave like rooms are there to store and hide the weapons.

4 main watch houses are there in the 4 corners of the fort and it is said that the watchers were the slaves.

 The sea facing the fort is full of hidden rock and sand which is themain advantage of the place that the enemy boats cannot reach near the fort without a good knowledge of the sea area.

we were guided by a navy personal and a very interesting description was given by him about the Fort. 

Traveling Tips

* Permission must be granted from the Navy in order to enter the fort premises.

Thalawila St Anne's Church

Thalawila St Anne's church is a beautiful catholic shrine situated close to the city of Kalpitiya. It can be reached easily via the Thalawila road, turning left from the Kalpitiya road.Its a beautiful shrine with a huge garden filled with trees and monuments.Stray animals can be seen in the shrine premises mostly donkeys.  The church is dedicated to st Anne, the Mother of the virgin Mary.

The history of the church runs back to 17th century where some people say that the church was built by an European trader and the crew of a Portuguese ship .The European trader came to be shipwrecked off the Kalpitiya coast and he had been aboard a Portuguese ship dedicated to St. Anne which was carrying a wooden statue of her and the ship was crashed on the rocks off the Kalpitiya coast and sunk. The survivors, including the trader, had miraculously survived and made to the shore.They built the Shrine in order to pay their gratitude towards the st Anne.

Another story is there which says the church was built by an poor Portuguese man who had a vision of st Mary while sleeping under a banyan tree and the man was instructed and coins were given by the holy ghost of the st Anne in order to build the church.

Traveling Tips
* The annual feast of the church falls on the month of August where a large number of pilgrims comes to worship the church.

Kalpitiya City

Kalpitiya peninsular is one of the most tourist attracted city in Sri Lanka where the island and the beaches are very famous among the foreign tourists more than  Sri Lankans. Two main tourists seasons are there for visiting Kalpitiya, one season for dolphin and Whale watching between October and May where the other season falls on July for the kite surfing.We reached Kalpitiya through the A3 Colombo Puttlam highway and by turning left from the Palavi junction. The road along the beautiful Puttam Lagoon and newly built wind mills can be seen regularly.Kalpitiya is an ancient trading hub ran by the Portuguese.



Beauty of the road side 

Wind Mills at Kalpitiya 

Wind mills can be seen all over the city where the mills are situated in rows. The wings in each tower rotate with different speeds making a small noise but of course its a beautiful sight.

Norochchole power station

When you pass the city of Norochchole along the Kalpitiya road you can see the 3 power plants of the so  called Lakwijaya power station the biggest power station of Sri Lanka. 

Bar Reef at Kalpitiya 

It is the largest coral reef of Sri Lanka where the tourists who are interested in watching the diversity of the reef can take a boat ride from the city as well as the Scuba Divers and Snorkelers are welcomed by a number of tour guides and diving schools situated in the area.  

Kite Surfing in Kalpitiya

Kite Surfing takes place only in the wind season where a lot of foreigners comes with their Kites and Surfing boards on their back. We did see them take rented 3wheelers and bikes to reach the dutch bay in order to enjoy their surfing. Dutch bay is a safe and ideal place for kite surfing where the water level is not very high and the wind is suitable for the kites. 

Beautiful Sandy Beaches in Kalpitiya 

Some beaches along the reef of Kalpitiya is very safe and beautiful ideal for sea bathing. 

Coral pieces and beautiful sea shells are all over the shore and the sand dunes are visible due to the powerful wind near the shore.Of course the beaches are not polluted like the ones in other areas of the island.

Traveling Tips

* Beach Cabanas and very small hotels can be found easily in Kalpitiya but the prices are little bit high compared to the other places. Of course the food is very expensive and its better to buy the groceries  snacks or some food from the Palavi junction before turning to Kalpitiya road. 

* Whale and Dolphin watching or diving can be arranged easily if you follow the advertising boards along the road.

Wadasiti Kanda(Holy place of Kathira mount)

The ancient wadasiti kanda can be reached within few minutes from Kataragama where you need to arrange a vehicle from the office in order to climb the mountain. A holy devalaya is situated on the top of the mountain.
It was built by the King DutuGamunu in order to fulfill his promise that he made before the war to capture the island. It is said that after capturing the island he climbed the mountain to build the devala as he promised but the God of Kataragama saw the difficulty of the worshippers to climb the mountain and threw his weapon to point a place to build the devalaya . That is where the Kataragama Maha Devalaya is situated now.
The view from the top of the mountain is breath taking as you can see the Situlpawwa, Yala national park and all the way to the sea.

The history of Wadasiti Kanda

Traveling Tips
* Its about 350rs per head for the transport fee to the top of the mountain and back.
* Sometimes you will have to wait until a group of visitors gather enough for a vehicle.

Kirinda Temple

Kirinda temple is situated in Kirinda where you can reach the place within few kilometers from Kataragama -Tissamaharamaya road. It is said that the temple is dedicated to the queen Viharamahadevi the daughter of king Kavantissa. Where the princess was sacrificed in a boat in order to stop a disaster of raging sea. On the top of the rock you can find a stupa and a shrine.

Kirinda rock face to the deep blue sea where the shore is difficult to reach due to the steepness of the rock. Rumors say that the place it self takes human lives as sacrifices. In front of the temple there's a board displaying the names of the people who were dead near the temple beach due to their carelessness.

  Travelling Tips 

*Please note that the beach near the temple is not a suitable place for bathing and avoid climbing down the rock in to the beach.

Situlpawwa temple, rock and the Monastry

It is situated in Hambanthota District 18km away from Kataragama. We had to take Kirinda Situlpawwa road which runs through the Yala national park to reach Situlpawwa where the road is famous for elephant attacks. More than elephants, people are now scared of leopards. We found that the two dogs were missing from the Situlpawwa temple due to leopard attacks few days before our arrival. We were surprised by a huge wild pig at the car park which looked like a tamed one.

This is an  ancient monastery with a history over 2200 years. It was built by the king kawantissa as a center of Buddhist education for Buddhist monks. Paintings of the Anuradhapura era and the ruins of stone Buddha statues, Bodhisattva statues and many other ruins can be found within the monastery premises.

Situlpawwa rock

Situlpawwa Dagaba

Ruins of the Monastry

Situlpawwa temple

Statues of the Bhodhi sathwa

Statues of the saptha mudra (the seven gestures of the lord Buddha)

BlowHole, Hummanaya

The blowhole is situated in the Kudawella village in the city of Dikwella. It is declared as the second largest blowhole in the world.We found the path to the Blowhole more interesting and beautiful than the blowhole. To view the perfectly functioning blowhole you must visit in the season.There's a museum near by where you can see structures of blue whales.

Path to the BlowHole

BlowHole

Dondra Light House

Dondra light House is situated in Dondra which can be reached via the Tangalle main road and turning right to the Lighthouse road.It is one of the active lighthouses of Sri Lanka which is 50meters  in height and the shape is octagonal.You can climb the stairs to the top of the lighthouse with the permission from the Navy.

Pidurangala Rock, Monastery, Cave Temple and the archaeological site

The pidurangala rock is situated few kilometeres away from the Sigiriya Fortress which dates back to the same era as the Sigiriya. Pidurangala Monastry was built by the king Kassapa in order to relocate the monks lived in the Sigiriya when he arrived.

Highlights of Pidurangala

Pidurangala Temple

It is a cave temple which dates back to the ancient era which is situated at the bottom of the rock.

Pidurangala Rock

It is bit hard to climb the Pidurangala rock since the path is very steep and the irregular stepping rocks. When you reach closer to the top no proper paths or steps to find. The path after the reclining Buddha statue is the most difficult part. By reaching the top of the Pidurangala rock you can get a perfect view of the Sigiriya Rock Fortress.

Reclining Buddha Statue

The statue is made f Bricks and once it had been the largest brick made statue in the world. Its about 12.5m long and was damaged by the treasure hunters few decades ago. It was reconstructed by the archaeologists.

Meditation Caves

A lot of smaller caves can be seen while climbing  the rock where the caves are partitioned into meditation rooms and bed chambers using clay walls.It is said that the ancient time these chambers were made and decorated by wall paintings for the use of the monks who were meditating  at the monastery.

Pidurangala Monastry

The archaeological site of the pidurangala monastery is at the bottom of the rock consisting structures of stupa and temple ruins .

The Stupa
It is said that the stupa is the spot where the king kassapa was cremated after his death.

Travelling Tips
* You can easily reach Pidurangala by a 3wheeler , taxi or a vehicle of your own within few minutes.
*Top part of the rock is bit difficult to climb.