Nature of Gampaha

Pilikuththuwa Rajamaha Viharaya

Direction For Pilikuththuwa Rajamaha Viharaya
You Can Rash Pilikuththuwa Rajamaha Viharaya From Yakkala Junction Or From Miriswattha Junction.

When You Take A Turn At Miriswattha Junction From Colombo Kandy Main Road, You Have To Travel 6-7 Km And You Will Find A By Lane To Pilikuththuwa Rajamaha Viharaya.

If You Take A Turn From Yakkala Junction, You Have To Travel Around 3-4km Along The Kiridiwela Road And You Will Find A Y Junction. You Have To Take The Right Hand Side Lane. If You Take The Left Side, You Can Reach Koskadavila Temple.

There Are Several Stories About The Village ?Pilikuththuwa? Got Its Name. One Belief Is That This Pace Got Its Name Pilikuththuwa Because This Village Provided Apparel To Kings. The "Pili" Means Cloths In Sinhalese Language.

Another Story Connected To This Name Is That King Valagamba Used To Stay In This Area During 1 Century AD, Before He Wiped Out The South Indian Invaders. One Of The Cave Used To Store His Queens Cloths And Thats Why This Place Got That Name.

Pilikuthuwa Boo Tree & The Dharma Shalawa:
Once You Enter To The Pilikuththuwa Temple, The Darma Shalawa ( Preaching Hall) Is Located By Your Right Hand Side. This Was Build In 1910. Once You Pass It, You Will Reach The Boo Maluwa. There Are Are Two Boo Trees Are There But Some Times You May Notice Them As Branches Of One Tree.

When You Enter The Cave Temple, First You Will Be In A Small Section, Where You Can See Some Mural Paintings. One Of The Noticeable Thing Is The Disfigured Mural Paintings Due To Portuguese Influence. These Were Done In 16th Century When The Some Parts Of Sri Lanka Were Ruled By Portuguese. The Paintings Were Done Such A Way That The King Vessanthara Was Wearing Socks And Shoes And Even The Queen Mathri Was Drawn As As With Normal Type Of Cloths, Not Much Specialty. Most Of The Women Are Not Wearing Anything For The Top.

Maligathenna Rajamaha Viharaya.

Maligathenna Rajamaha Viharaya. Situated In The Village Of Malwatuhiripitiya, Is One Of The Many Ancient Cave Temples Of An Area Historically Known As Siyane Korale. Though Located Not Far From Gampaha And Near The A1 Mainroad From Colombo To Kandy, The Archaeological Sites Of Siyane Korale Are Rarely Visited By Foreigners, Because They Are Not Mentioned In Ordinary Pocket Guides. However, Maligathenna As Well As Pilikuththuwa And Varana And Petthagangala Are Extraordinarily Beautiful Sites And Well Worth A Detour.

Maligathenna Is The Highest Hill In Gampaha District. The Monastery Officially Recognized As An Archaeological Site Is Located At Ist Eastern Foot. The History Of Maligathenna Rajamaha Viharaya Goes Back To The Early Times Of Buddhism On The Island. According To Brahmi Inscriptions Found In The Nearby Temples Of Pilikuththuwa And Varana, The Temples Of The Siyane Korale Served As Abode Of Reclusive Buddhist Monks As Early As In Pre-Christian Centurues. The Temples Are Ascribed To Valagamba, The Famous King Known As Vatthagamni Abhaya In The Ancient Chroinicles. Maligathenna Is Said To Have Served As One Of His Hiding Places During His Years In Forced Exile From Anuradhapura. However, Many Cave Entrances Can Be Dated To The Late Anuradhapura Period.

Another Legend Has It, That Maligathenna Rajamaha Viharaya Was A Place Honoured By The Presence Of The Sacred Tooth Relic Of The Buddha, Which Is Now Enshrined In Kandy. When The Christian King Don Juan Dharmapala Of Kotte Helped The Portuguese To Destroy Buddhist Culture, The Guardian Of The Sacred Tooth Brought This National Palladium To Maigathenna For Safekeeping For A While.

The Main Temple Complex Of Maligathenna Consists Of Two Terraces Called Pahala Maluwa And Ihala Maluwa. On The Very Top Of The Maligathenna Hill Is A Stupa Plus The Site Of An Ancient Bo-Tree.

Koskandavila Maha Viharaya Gmpaha

Direction For Koskandavila Maha Viharaya’ Koskadavila Temple Has Easy Access From Colombo Kandy Main Road. Take A Turn From The Yakkala Junction To Kiridiwela Road. If You Are Coming From Colombo, This Will Be In Your Right Hand Side. From The Junction You Have To Go 4-5 Km And The Temple Will Be In Your Right Hand Side. You Can Ask The Directions From The Villagers, That Is The Most Easiest Way To Find.

When You Are Coming From Yakkala Junction To To Kosakadavila, You Will Find A Y Junction And You Have To Take The Left Route. If You Take The Right Route, You Can Reach Pilikuththuwa And Then Maligathenna.

If You Are Planing To Go To Varana, You Have To Pass Koskadavila And Proceed Along The Kiridiwela Road.

Horagolla National Park

If You Live In Colombo And Want To Reach A National Park Within A Shorted Distance, Horagolla Park Is The First Choice. This Is The Latest Addition To The Sri Lankan National Park Family. This Area Is Named As Wildlife Sanctuary In Year 1973 And Elevated As A National Park In Year 2004. This Park Expands Approximately 13.36 Hectares Of Area And Under Department Of Wild Life Conservation. More Than Animals, This Is A Place To Visit And Observer Wide Verities Of Trees And Vegetation.

Directions To Horagolla National Park: Horagolla National Park Is Located Close To Horagolla Walauwa. If You Are Coming By The Kandy Road, You Need To Take A Turn From The Nittabuwa Junction And Travel Towards Weyangoda. Then Take The Left Turn Towards Pinnagolla Road. Need To Travel Around 600m From Pinnagolla Junction.

Horagolla Park Belongs To Wet Zone And Get Annual Rainfall Of 2000-2500 Mm. Average Temperature Float Around 28.5 C. You Can Many Low Country Wet Zone Fauna And Flora In This Park. You Can See Many Hora (Dipterocarpus Zeylanicus) In This Park. According To The Records, There Are 10 Type Of Mammals, 64 Types Of Birds, Seven Type Of Fish And 28 Verities Of Butterflies Can Be Found In This Park. The Horagolla Lake Located By This Park.

The Paths Inside The Park Are Well Paved And You Can Walk Without Much Difficulty. But Need To Check For Snakes And Other Reptiles, Because This Is Their Territory. In One Section Of This Park You Can See Some Injured Animals Getting Treated.

Attanagalla Rajamaha Viharaya Gampaha

Almost All The Sri Lankan Buddhist May Have Heard About The Siri Sagabo Story. Many People Believe That This Temple Was Built In The Site, Where Siri Sangabidhi, Himself Separated The Head And Offered It To The Peasant. You Can See A Monument Built To Commemorate The King Sir Sangbodhi And His Sacrifice Of His Head. But Some Archeologists Argue That This Is Not The Place, Its Hatthikuchchi Temple In Anuradapura District.

It’s Believed That This Temple Was Constructed By King Gotabhaya During 249-262 AD And Followed By King Upatissa 365-406 AD.

Attanagalla Rajamaha Vishara Has One Of The Most Important Archeological Site In Sri Lanka, That Is Its Vatadageya. This Is The Only Remaining Vadtagaya In Sri Lanka And Rest Of Others Are Seen As Almost Ruins. Attanagalla Rajamaha Vishara Vatadageya Is Currently Maintain And Conserved By Archeological Department Of Sri Lanka.

In Recent Past, A Bbhikku Training Center Was Established In This Temple.

Henarathgoda Botanical Garden

Gampaha Henerathgoda Is One Of The Few Botanical Gardens In Sri Lanka. This Garden Was Established In Year 1876 And Operated Under Department Of National Botanical Gardens , Sri Lanka.

Henerathgpooda Has Mainly Low Country Sub-Tropical Trees Belonging To Wet And Dry Zones Of Sri Lanka. This Is The Place Where The First Rubber Tree Was Planted In The Island. Still You Can See The Remains Of It.

Henarathgoda Park Can Be Reached From Gampaha- Muniwangoda Main Road. If You Are Coming By The Train, This Park Is Nearly 500m Away From The Gampaha Railway Station. This Is Boarded To Attanagalle Oya, So Visitors Have Facility For Going For Boat Rides.

Opening Hours: Henerathgoda Park Is Open From 8.30 Am To 5.00 Pm Throughout The 

Kelaniya Rajamaha VIharaya

‘Keraniya Rajamaha Viharaya If One Of The Highly Sacred Buddhist Temple In Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Buddhist Believes That Load Buddha Visited This Place During His 3rd Visit To Sri Lanka. This Was Happened On The Invitation Of King Maniakkika And During The 8th Year Of His Enlightment. Load Buddha’s Visit To Sri Padha Mountain Also Happened During This Visit Upon The Request From God Sumana Saman..

Warana Rajamaha Viharaya Gampaha

History Of Varana Temple,
History Of Warana Rock Temple Flows Up To King Devanampiyatissa Time. According To Some Written Information He Constructed This Temple Between 2nd And 3rd Centery BC. Later The King Walagamba Did Renovation In 1st Century AD. King Walagamba Is A Famous For Rock ( Cave) Temple Building In Sri Lanka, Because He Used To Hide Among Most Of Those Caves When Kings From South India Invades Sri Lanka. After He Won The Battle, He Had Build Temples In Most Of These Locations Or Renovate The Existing Ones. King Nissanka Malla And King Parakarmabahu VI Also Contributed To The Development Of This Temple.

There Are Some Inscriptions Find In Warana Temple. They Says That "This Is Donated To Tissa Dhatta Thero, The Brother Of Majjhima Thero". The Tissa Dhatta Thero Is Considered As The Student Of Mahinda Thero.

How To Reach Varana Temple,
Warana Raja Maha Viharaya, Or The Varana Temple Got Its Name Because It's Located In Warana Village. This Is One Of The Cave Temple Located In Western Province Of Sri Lanka, Which Can Be Reach Less Than  1.5 Hours From Colombo.  You Will Be Amazed To See Historical Cave Temples On The Giant Rocks With Some Ancient Inscriptions(Brahmin Script ).

Warana Temple Is Located Around 5 Km Away From The Colombo Kandy Highway. If You Are Coming From Colombo, Turn Right From Yakkala Junction And Go Around 4 Km. Then You Will Find "Nelli Gaha Mula" Junction And Turn Left From There. You Have To Go Around 1 Km And Then Take A Another Side Road, Which Leads You To Warana Temple.

Villages Are Very Helpful And You Can Check The Road With Them Also. On Our Way He Stopped Several Places And Checked The Road. Road Condition Is OK, But It’s Not That Wide. You Will Definitely Like To Drive These Winding Roads, You Can Enjoy Some Country Side Views Of Srilanka, Cascading Paddy Fields, Bufferlos And There Are Many Rocks Passing By.

There Is Another Approach By Taking Turn From Thihariya, From Colombo Kandy Road. The Attanagalle And Pilikittuwa Temples Are Also Located In A Close Proximity.

Water World Kelaniya

Water World Aquarium And Bird Park Are Located In Kalaniya. The Bird Park Is Relatively Small But The Aquarium Has Large Variates Of Fish. This Attraction Suit For Both Kids And Adults.

At The Water World: You Can Buy Combine Package So You Can Visit Both Bird Park And The Aquarium. It Cost Rs 220/= For Adults And Rs 100/= For Kids. ( This Fee May Subjected To Change In Future )There Are Two Separate Entrances For Bird Park And The For The Aquarium.

Bird Park Has Mostly Foreign Species, Only Few Local Ones. Visitors Can Walk Along With The Pathway And Bird Nests Are Located By Side.

The Water World Is Better Place When Compared To The Aquarium In The Dehiwala Zoo. This Has Several Sections For Both Local And Foreign Species. According To Them, There Are More Than 10000 Of Them. Visitors Can Walk Through The Tunneled Enclosure And Fish Tanks Are Located In Both Sides. Shark Tank Is The Largest Tank And Better To Be There In The Feeding Time.

This Place Is Located By The Bank Of The Kelani River So That Makes Environment More Attractive. Seems They Are Doing More Additions And We May See Many New Species In The Near Future. I'm Not Sure This Is A Financially Success Story, But We Should Appreciate The Management For Providing Such A Attraction For Sri Lankans.

Direction for Water World:
Address: 95, Biyagama Road, Bollegala, Kelaniya

If you are coming from Kaduwela, pass the bridge and take the Biyagama road. Travel few km and Water world will be in your left hand side.
If you are coming from Colombo, Take Kandy road, pass the New Kalani bridge, take the Biyagama road to your right hand side. First you have to pass the Kalani temple and then travel few km and water world will be in your right hand side.
They have small parking place in side, you can park the vehicles by the road side also.