Ampara to Pulukunawa along A27 in search of Heritage

map 1 – Click Image to Enlarge

map 2 – Click Map to Enlarge

Since the focus towards Ampara has increased with next year’s big event and the possibility of a huge influx of visitors from each and every corner of the country, I thought of bringing forward some lesser known places to the attention of general public.

Piyangala Hermitage

On a peaceful day I arrived at Ampara and took the Maha Oya road towards Piyangala junction and got down near the temple. There were a fleet of steps which took me towards a well-built “Kutiya” with an inscription. At that time there were about 100 visitors howling around forgetting that this was a monastery where monks meditated. After climbing few more steps I reached a huge “Kutiya” which was abandoned long ago, there was a long inscription under the drip ledge and pieces of plaster could be seen here and there too. I decided to proceed further up through a path which was blocked by fallen trees. With some adventure I came across few drip ledge caves and a scenic open place where I could easily visualize Pulukunawa rock and Batticaloa region. This place is known to have many more caves but since the search seemed endless I decided to descend back. Piyangala is located on the same mountain range as Rajagala and there is a probability that it was once an extension of Raja gala complex.

Piyangala kutiya with inscription

path

another kutiya

what the monks used

these guys were every where

the massive kutiya at Piyangala

its inscription

this was found inside the kutiya

Door way to..

Two drip ledge caves

an inscription

after climbing up i came across a nice cave with a good view

the plaster

towards Batticaloa

the lagoon

the temple premises

an altar

view towards Pulukunawa

more steps

a kutiya close to the pagoda

Piyangala fresco cave

After getting back to the road and having something as breakfast I took a trishaw towards Maha Oya side passing Piyangala and just before the turn off to Pulukunawa I saw an archeology board directing towards the forest and decided to investigate it. 100 meters from the main road there was a huge cave with few “vedda” paintings remaining in it. I also noted at some places a violet coloured plaster. Locals call this “Nagas” cave because a terrorist called “Nagas” was found dead here, after been shot by the military.

name board

the Piyangala fresco cave

hooded cave

cave paintings

and more

parts of plaster

someone has done some research it seems

Pulukunawa temple complex
Pulukunawa once was a place where no one could reach because of heavy terrorist activity in the region. To get to Pulukunawa one needs to take the left turn off just before Mangalagama. It was once a hermitage just likes nearby Rjagala & Piyangala monasteries. After traveling about 2Km the temple premises could be reached, there is a small “Awasa geya” where a friendly head priest and two police man resides. The monk is extremely helpful and will volunteer to show around and if he is not there the police officers will do so. Unfortunately when I visited the place a “Wandana nade” also arrived and the monk decided to give them and myself a full tour around the complex. Firstly we arrived at the huge “Asana garaya” which is the largest in Sri Lanka and nearby there was a huge pagoda which was vandalized by treasure hunters too. There were remnants of a building clearly seen on the road which was irresponsibly done recently; wonder if the relevant authorities were blind. Around the pagoda there were many monoliths and many more ruins of buildings which need to be unearth and excavated. From here onwards the monk led us towards the mountain and we reached the center of it where a huge dried out lake can be found. Around this lake there were few drip ledge caves (some even having “Vedda” paintings), remnants of many buildings, another pagoda and many more to be seen but the “Nade” didn’t like to go further. I was so disappointed that I had to cut short my exploration because of these clueless “Nade” people who didn’t like to proceed any further because they didn’t see anything like Anuradapura and Polonnaruwa. I really felt sad because the monk really wanted to show around. After thanking the priest and the officers I left the place towards Rajagala junction.

largest asana garaya at Pulukunawa

Pagoda at pulukunawa

wash your feet

Parts of buildings scattered around

note the korawak stone and steps

the road running over the ruins

pillars

more buildings

these were every where

monk walking around the dried out lake on the mountain

remnants of a another building

a pagoda covered with bushes

showing us another interesting cave

another drip ledge cave

vedda paintings

and more

it doesnt seems like it needs help

Giri Kumbila Raja Maha Viharaya

Passing Rajagala junction (towards Ampara) I reached a functioning tile/brick mill and at this point there was a frame of an archaeology department name board which tempted me to take a trishaw and proceed towards an ancient temple which was 3km from the main road and located in the center of a paddy field. From the first sight one would never think this is an ancient place but if one looks around there are few ruins scattered around. There is a miniature pagoda which looks like a big bush and there is a huge dead “Siyambala” tree on the top of it. The main attraction is the huge rectangular stone pillar broken into few pieces. According to it, this place was done by King Lajjathissa and this is directly connected to Rja gala tenna. According to the head priest this place has served some purpose for Rajagala tenna monks as an intermediate place.

directions

a dead siyambala tree on the pagoda

parts of the stone inscription scattered around a paddy field

part of an inscription

pillar bases

another pillar base

Raja gala as seen from Giri kumbila viharaya

Gonagolla Punchi Seegiriya

Next I took a bus towards Weranketagoda (28th mile post) junction and inquired about “Punchi seegiriya” from a trishaw driver who agreed to take me to the temple which was 5Km towards the east. This temple is well known by locals so it’s not difficult to find. When we reached this modernized temple there was only a young Buddhist priest who volunteered to show me around. There is cave which has a slab on the floor and it is said that there is a tunnel under it which connects nearby Raja gala. On the same rock there are two beautiful ladies fading out with time. These frescoes are identical to the ones at Seegiriya. Also if one walks around there are some stone pillars, a pagoda, remnants of a “watada geya” & two rock inscriptions.

Punchi seegiriya

the slab which covers the tunnel

the protection chamber

similar to seegiri frescoes

the pagoda

the chatra stones

Pillars

Watada geya

towards the inscriptions

one of those inscriptions

a drip ledge cave with inscription

vedda paintings

looks like a monkey

use of different colours

Samangala Hermitage

After thanking the priest at Punchi Seegiriya we left towards “Weranketagoda” and took the road towards the west. After traveling few Km’s the road conditions got worse, a 4WD is required to proceed any further from this point for about 5Km’s. After passing through a deserted forest patch we reached the CSD post at Samangala where we got permission from the civil defense officers who volunteered to show us around. There is a well paved foot path which will take one towards “Guru Lena” which has lot of space even to run around, from here onwards there are plenty of similar huge caves found uphill. “Ananda lena” and “Weera lena” are few of those huge caves which are modified so monks can meditate with not much of trouble. Passing these caves we arrived at the main cave which is the tallest cave in Sri Lanka. There was a nearby tall tree which was brushing upon the drip ledge inscription of this massive “Raja lena” cave. There were remnants of an ancient plaster which belongs to King Sadhdhathissa era preserved for further studies. After having a quick conversation with the head priest we decided to rush back because the skies were getting darker.

towards samangala

Guru lena

the only lamp

broken clay statue

a drip edge cave

Ananda lena

Weera lena

first glimpse of the huge cave

the tree was touching the drip ledge

the inscription

2100 year old plaster

view from inside the cave

Udegiriya Raja Maha Viharaya

After reaching Veranketagoda we hurried towards Udegiriya junction and took the temple road for about 2Km to visit the temple. The pagoda has been re built and altars and other ruins can be found rearranged around the premises. There were plenty of monoliths also in the surrounding area of this temple.

a siri pathul stone at the entrance

a small shrine

Udegiriya pagoda

pillars every where

mixed together

oil lamp

flower altar

rock pond

here comes the rains

Samanabedda Gal len viharaya

After getting back to the main road I proceeded towards Ampara passing Uhana and just before reaching the Ampara sanctuary we came across a name board saying “Samanabedda gal lena”. One needs to be careful while walking along the path towards the temple because sometimes there are wild elephants roaming around. At the temple there is an ancient rock caved image house which has been modified and an old rock statue of Buddha can be seen in it. There is a pagoda near the bell tower which has been vandalized and passing few monoliths near the pagoda will take one to an open rock plateau where remnants of few buildings can be found, the view towards Namal Oya sanctuary is the most spectacular thing one can witness at this point.

entering the rock image house

ancient statue

serene

a moon stone

steps

the pagoda

pillars near the sthupa

pieces of buildings washed away

rock pond

rains are coming from Namal Oya

gloomy view

Since it was dark I decided to return back to Iginiyagala and plan my next day. Next day plan was very simple, I had only two places to visit for the whole day and guess what it took the whole day:-D

Buddangala Hermitage

The bus to Buddangala leaves Ampara at 8.30am. So after taking a short bus ride which passed a huge forest I got down at a road which led towards the rare entrance. All of the visitors must keep in mind that this is a hermitage where monks meditate. Usually during weekends there are loads of buses seen in the premises. The pagoda is a newly constructed one over the old one and it is surrounded by few pillars on four sides. There was a place where altars and etc were stacked up together. There was a round plate called “Padalas Sheelawa” which was once worshiped (before the Buddha statue era) by citizens. There are few large ponds between rock plateaus and there are mini bridges to cross them. To walk around and explore it would take few months because the temple complex is so vast. I came across three drip ledge caves and one did have a long inscription. I also enjoyed the walk through the “Thapowanaya” alone enjoying the silence and the coolness. One needs to be careful when wondering about because the hermitage is surrounded by the Buddangala forest filled with jumbos. If one needs there is a good bookshop with plenty of interesting books too.

rock ponds around buddangala

pieces of bricks washed away

Buddangala sthupa as seen from the road

pillars of a building

another building

wow

weeragoda lake

Padalas sheelawa

the pagoda

all stacked together

pieces of a moon stone

korawak stones

statue in the image house

rock pond between the rocks

replica of Polonnaru gal viharaya

nicely sculptured

modern day creation

one of those pots

the suthra

my favourite

stay away buddy

Migadaya

splendid view

frames

its all about me

no this is not hunnas hotel

steps towards the pond

the seat at the rock pond

let me crunch

the drip ledge kuti

exhibits at the museum

and more

skull of a tusker

found scattered around the monastary

towards the thapowanaya

streams were filled with aquatic life

a drip ledge kutiya

its inscription – Click Image to Enlarge

another kutiya

foot print of a jumbo

Thapowanaya

Mayadunna Raja Maha Viharaya

After walking around for hours I decided to get back to Ampara where I took a bus towards Gonagolla and got down at Mayadunna junction (30th mile post Uhana road). From here onwards it was a 3Km walk until I reached historical Mayadunna temple where there was an important inscription found protected by bars. Also I came across few altars a rock pond and few more ruins at this place. Unfortunately the head priest was not there to gather further information. So I started walking back enjoying the surrounding scenery until I reached the main road where I headed back towards Ampara

Mayadunna pagoda as seen from the road

image house and the pond

remnants from the past

bricks of a building

the inscription

note the siri patul stone

a pillar base

colours of nature

time for a snap

age is not a barrier

smiling while at work

awaiting more showers

they were every where

waiting patiently

Ali Oluwa lake

From Ampara i took a bus towards Inginiyagala and got down at Ali Oluwa tank before I departed towards my resting place to end my long awaited quest.

ali oluwa lake with namal oya mountains

glassy Ali oluwa