The Rock of Beds of Gerandigala (දමුණුමුල්ල ගැරඬිගල ගල් ඇඳන්)

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The aptly named Gerandigala (the rat snake rock) is a rocky outcrop over 1 km long running parallel to the Galewela – Kalawewa Road near the small town called  Damunumulla.  Unlike many other rocky outcrops with flat top surfaces, the spine of this rock holds several precariously balanced boulders placed like the plates on the spine of an ancient dinosaur making it unique and the climb difficult.

At the southern end of the rock lies the Gerandigala Rajamaha Viharaya, a temple patronized by the ancient kings but modernized over time. Still, the spectacular view of the Galewela area from the stupa on top of the rock is worth a visit to this temple.

The cave image house, the five drip ledge caves and the two rock inscriptions of the temple have been declared as protected archaeological monuments by the archaeology department.

The rock beds of Gerandigala, also known by the villagers as “Gal Andan Gala” ( Rock bedrock) lie in the centre of this rock. Smoothly carved six beds on the surface of the rock,  underneath a spinal rock probably used by the meditating monks millennia ago provide an incredible view of the area. As in many remote places in the country, you will need a friendly local villager to act as the guide. The rock beds or “Gal Endan” lie a little over 1 km walk from the temple or you could take the vehicle past Siyambala Wewa and then walk rest. The climb and the path to the rock beds are through the spine rocks at the top with just enough space to squeeze between the wall of the rock and the precipice, not a route for a person with vertigo. ( Sigiriya and Beyond – pages 76- 77)

At the northern side of the rock about one kilometre from the temple, the two rock inscriptions can be found.

References

  • Gunetilleke, N. et al. (2016) Sigiriya & Beyond: To Dambulla, Habarana, Kekirawa, galewela. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Back of Beyond Sigiriya (Pvt.) Ltd.

Also See

Map of The Rock of Beds of Gerandigala

Please click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map (ගූගල් සිතියම් පහලින්)
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The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites

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Travel Directions to The Rock of Beds of Gerandigala

Route from Galewela to The Rock of Beds of Gerandigala
Through : Damunumulla
Time to Spend : 2-4  hours
Distance :4 km
Travel time : 15 min.
Driving directions : see on Google map

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