Kuweni Palace at Wilpattu – විල්පත්තුවේ කුවේණි මාලිගය
Kuweni was a queen of the Yaksha tribe who lived in Sri Lanka over 3000 year ago when Sri Lanka was inhabited by 3 tribes at that time. Yaksha (Demon) tribe, Naga (Serpent Tribe) and Deva Tribes. In around 500 BC, a prince called Vijaya with his 700 friends exiled from the Kingdom of Lalata in India landed in a area called Thambapanni. This was the same day which the Buddha passed away thousands of kilometers away in the city of Kusinara in India.
Kuweni who was spinning cotton under a tree when Vijaya landed Thambapanni, at first captured all the 700 followers of Vijaya but later assumed a lovely form of a 16 year old damsel and married Vijaya.
-0-It is believed that they initially lived close to the area which they landed.
Today, inside Wilpattu National Park lies a vast amounts of ruins scattered all over. Near a villu called Kali lies ancient ruins of a palace complex now believed to be the Palace of Kuweni.
Lone stone pillars, some still standing and some fallen lies buried covered in jungle. Unfortunately no archaeological excavations have been done on this site.
Also See
Map of Kuweni Palace at Wilpattu
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
Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.
Travel Directions to Kuweni Palace (upto Wilpattu National Park Entrance)
Route from Colombo to Kuweni Palace (upto Wilpattu National Park Entrance) |
Though : Negombo – Puttlam Distance :200 km Travel time : 4 hours. Driving directions : see on google map |
Leave a Reply