Maunawa Purana Tampita Viharaya (මාඋනාව පුරාණ ටැම්පිට විහාරය)

55 years ago3 months ago03 mins

RATE THIS LOCATION : 1 Star

(2 votes, average: 2.00 out of 5)

Maunawa Purana Viharaya is an ancient temple with a Tampita Viharaya hidden just a few hundred meters away from the Bingiriya – Wariyapola road.

Tampita Viharaya is a temple built on pillars, primarily carved out of stone even though a few smaller structures built on wooden pillars are found. A frame of timber is laid on the pillars and thick wooden planks are laid on this frame to create a platform. The temple is built on the platform using wattle and daub, mostly with an outer and an inner sanctum as in the Tampita Viharaya at Maunawa. Tampita Vihara was a popular architectural feature of temples during the Kandyan era.

Unfortunately, this temple seems to have gone through a major renovation in 2453 BE (1910) as printed on the newly painted Makara Thorana. A Mandpaya too has been built in front of the viharaya probably during this renovation. A wooden stairway from the end of the Mandapaya leads to the entrance of the Tampita Viharaya.

The entrance to the inner chamber is through a new Makara Thorana decorated with flowers. Unfortunately, all the statues inside the temple as well as paintings are new and freshly painted and lacks any antiquity.

The temple between Chilaw and Wariyapola, 21 km from Chilaw and 33 km from Wariyapola. From Chilaw, travel pass Bingiriya and Bowatta. One km from Bowatta junction turn right on to the Maunawa Vihara Mawatha at the board directing to Mahaveunawa Asapuwa which also lies on this road. Travel on this road for 750 meters to reach the temple.

Also See

Map of Maunawa Purana Tampita Vihara

Please click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map (ගූගල් සිතියම් පහලින්)

Show Location (ගූගල් සිතියම)

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.

Traveling to Maunawa Purana Tampita Viharaya

Route from Colombo to Maunawa Purana Tampita Viharaya

Distance : 97 km
Travel time : 2.30 hours
Driving directions : see on google map

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Baobab Trees at Wilpatttu (විල්පත්තු බයෝබැබ් ගස්)
The baobab at Pomparippu Aru is the most mystical of all baobabs in Sri Lanka due to its inaccessible location. Because it cannot be reached by land, only a few people have ever seen this tree. To find it, you must travel to Gangewadiya in Wilpattu and hire a fishing boat to navigate up the Pomparippu Aru. The tree stands at the river's edge, with part of it exposed to the river water. […]
Ganegoda Veheragodella Archaeological Site (ගනේගොඩ වෙහෙරගොඩැල්ල පුරාවිද්‍යා භූමිය)
In front of the old stupa, which exhibits early Anuradhapura period construction features, stands a monument with unique characteristics. It has two tiers of stone pillars, with some of the pillars in the surrounding area having fallen. Some of the pillar tops have caputs, and within the building, there is a stone pillar base, suggesting that this was a multi-story structure. […]
Balapitiya Maha Kappina Walawwa (බලපිටිය මහ කප්පින වලව්ව)
Prominent among the mansions in Balapitiya are the Brahmanawatta Walawwa, where Senpathi Don Cosmo Wijesekara, the leader who led the massacre of the Portuguese at Randeniwela in Uva, was born, and the Maha Kappina Walawwa, where nobles descending from the Brahmins who arrived at Sri Lanka in the 11th century lived. […]
Chilaw Survey Tower Built by the British (හලාවත මිනින්දෝරු කුළුණ)
The Survey Tower at Chilaw has stood on the beach, exposed to the sea breeze, for possibly a century or more. It is built on a square platform and consists of three cylindrical towers stacked one on top of another. Similar cylindrical survey towers can be found in Kudarappu and Analaitivu in the Jaffna Peninsula, Negombo (though it has been destroyed), Katunayake, and Mannar. […]
Pothuhera Arambepola Ambalama (පොතුහැර අරඹේපොළ අම්බලම)
Pothuhera Arambepola Ambalama is a square brick and mortar structure situated in the Handugala Grama Sewaka division within the Polgahawela District Secretariat of the Kurunegala District. The walls of the Ambalama are half-height and feature a built-in ledge around the perimeter for seating. The roof is supported by four wooden beams, which rest on four brick and mortar pillars. […]
Borella Kanatte Commonwealth War Cemetery (බොරැල්ල කනත්ත පොදුරාජ්‍ය යුද සොහොන් පිටිය)
The Borella Kanatte Cemetery is the main cemetery of Colombo. It covers 48 acres and is operated by the Colombo Municipal Council. The cemetery was established in 1866 by the British colonial rulers of that time. It has separate sections for Hindus, Buddhists, Shintos, Roman Catholics, Anglicans and non-denominational Christians. […]
Exploring the Botanical Gardens of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, often referred to as the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean," is renowned for its rich biodiversity and lush landscapes. Among the natural attractions this island nation offers are its botanical gardens, which serve as centres for preserving a wide variety of plant species. […]
Liyangastota Amuna of Walawe Ganga Scheme (ලියන්ගස්තොට අමුණ)
Liyangastota Amuna (which was called Liyangahatota Amuna during British times) is an Anicut built by the British across the Walawe Ganga River lying close to the Barawakumbuka Interchange which leads to Nonangama on the Southern Expressway. The amuna was built in 1889 by the British. […]
Narapadu Ancient Watch Tower in Mannar
From the Mannar fort, travel 12 km on the Thalaimannar road, turn right at the Narapadu junction and go 1.4 km along the sandy road, where you can see this monolithic tower pointing towards the sky on the plain. […]
Dimbulagala Kosgaha Ulpotha Mara Veediya Ruins (දිඹුලාගල කොස්ගහ උල්පත මාර වීදිය නටබුණ්)
The Dimbulagala Rock is known for the Dimbulagala Rajamaha Viharaya by the public. But the Dimbulagala rock is scattered with ancient ruins not known by many. Kosgaha Ulpotha Mara Veediya is such site hidden inside thick forest on the eastern slopes of the Dimbulagala Rock. […]
Nillakgama Bodhigaraya (නිල්ලක්ගම බෝධිඝරය)
Nillakgama Bodhigaraya is the best preserved Bodhigara ( Bo-Tree house) in the country built during Anuradhapura Era. Believed to be built in the 8-9th centuary this is a completely built with granite […]
Nagapooshani Amman Kovil at Nainativu (නයිනතිව් නාගපූසානි අම්මාන් කෝවිල)
Nagapooshani Amman Kovil on the island of Nainativu is a very ancient Hindu temple. It is believed that this temple was originally erected many millennia before by the Nagas who were a pre-historic race of people of Sri Lanka. […]
Bolthumbe Saman Devalaya (බලංගොඩ බොල්තුඹේ සමන් දේවාලය)
According to legend the history of the Bolthumbe Saman Devalaya goes as far as Ravana Era. Even today, a prominent place is given to King Ravana in all its activities. […]
Portuguese Sculpture and the Inscription at Ratnapura Maha Saman Devalaya (රත්නපුර මහ සමන් දේවාලයේ පෘතුගීසි ගල් කැටයම)
At the entrance of the Devalaya building on the lower parapet wall lies a curious sculptured stone from the Portuguese era which portrays a Portuguese soldier with a brandished sword trampling a Sinhalese soldier. The defeated warrior is believed to be Ratnayake Muniyanse, the custodian of the gold stores of the Maha Saman Devalaya who demolished the church inside their fort and killed many Portuguese soldiers. However, some believe this to be warrior Kuruwita Rala. […]
Erukkalampiddy Ancient Survey Tower in Mannar (මන්නාරම එරුක්කලම්පිටිය පැරණි මිනුම් කුළුණ)
A damaged survey tower is found on the northern coast of Mannar Island unknown by many travellers. It lies off a bare strip of sand on a beach covered with thorny bushes. The tower stands on a square base. On top of it is two cylindrical segments, the top one smaller than the bottom. If it had a had a 3rd column at the top, it's not visible now. […]
Baobab Tree at Mannar : Tree with the largest trunk in Sri Lanka (මන්නාරම බයෝබැබ් ගස)
This Baobab tree at Mannar is calculated to be 734 years old and is the largest tree in Sri Lanka in terms of the circumference which is 19.5 meters. […]
Illukpitiya Rajamaha Viharaya and Malayadikanda Archaeological Ruins in Ampara (අම්පාර ඉළුක්පිටිය රජමහා විහාරය හා මලයඩිකන්ද පුරාවිද්‍යා භූමිය)
Illukpitiya Rajamaha Viharaya (Malayadikanda Rajamaha Viharaya) complex along with the ruins on the Malayadikanda hillock has been dated to the reign of king Kavantissa of Ruhunu kingdom who ruled from 205 BC to 161 BC. […]
Sri Maha Bodhi :The sacred Bo-Tree of Buddhist World (ශ්‍රී මහා බෝධිය)
After bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka by Mahinda Thero in 250 BC king Tissa received the Sri Maha Bodhi tree sapling and planted it at the present site in 249 BC making this tree 2272 year old (as in 2022). […]

Also See

Map of Maunawa Purana Tampita Vihara

Traveling to Maunawa Purana Tampita Viharaya

Share this:

Like this:

Leave a ReplyCancel reply