
Photo by of Jayathu Ravihansa
According to legend, King Ravana had six air ports to land his flying machine, Dandu Monara (Peacock Flying Machine) in Sri Lanka. There are number of locations which are now assumed to be these ports. The most popular is the Wariyapola, a city in the Kurunegala district. The name Wa-Riya-Pola directly translates to Air-Vehicle-Port. Another well known place is Thotupola Kanda, a mountain in Horton Plains in the middle of the country. Thotupola directly translates to port or terminal in English. Air Port in Sinhala is Guwan Thotupola. The term Thotupola is also used for ferry terminals without a adjective.
The third popular site is Gurulupotha which is a archaeological site today. Gurulupotha is translated in to ‘parts of peacock’ and it is believed that this mountain hideout has once been a repair center for the Ravana’s Vimana, Dandumonara. The ruins of building of the archaeological site in Gurulupotha is known as Sita Kotuwa, a belief the Sita had been once kept here by Ravana.
Other locations which are believed to ports are Sigiriya, Weragantota and Ussangoda. Ravana Gala is another location where its believed to be a landing port of Ravana’s Dandumonara. Not known by outsiders, this is a large flat rock plain in Maskeliya lying on the ground level. The villagers believe that the long parallel lines about 1 inch deep carved in to this rock plain are wheel markings of the Ravanas flying vehicle.
So how do you get there? From the Maskeliya Town take the Norton road towards Lukshapana. Travelling 7 km on this road, you will reach the small town of Luccumbe. Here you will find a large cement board pointing to a narrow road towards Nyanza Upper Division of the Maussakele Estate of the Maskeliya Plantations PLC. You need to travel on winding estate roads for 4 km to reach this rock plain. You may need to ask directions once you are on this road.
There is a better description of the road condition and a Google Earth KML file indicating the route from Luccumbe to Ravana Gala here.
Also See
- Attractions of Sri Lanka
- Heritage of Sri Lanka
- Waterfalls of Sri Lanka
- Nature and Wildlife of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Map of Maskeliya Ravana Gala
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 Maskeliya Ravana Gala
Route from Colombo to Maskeliya Ravana Gala |
Though : Malabe – Avissawella – Karawanella – Kithulgala – Ginigathena – Nortonbridge Distance : 132 km Travel time : 4 hours Driving directions : see on google map |