Nagavimana Kande Viharaya (Naga Vimanaya) in Kandy (නාග විමානය)

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Just above the Malwatu Maha Viharaya in Kandy and near the present Wales Park on the hills is found a small but beautiful old viharaya called Naga Vimanaya (also called Naga Viharaya). This temple has served as the residence of Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero for some time. This is also known as the Sangaraja Viharaya.

Naga Vimanaya‘ is a monastery founded in the early 17th century. Beautiful murals depicting Jataka stories drawn in Kandyan Sittara style paintings adorn the walls of the shrine and some of these are well preserved even today. These paintings are considered some of the best examples of Kandyan art.

The buildings of the temple are relatively modern except for the small ancient image house belonging to the Kandyan Kingdom. This image house is built with brick and mortar and plastered with lime mortar. The murals on the walls are authentic Kandy/Gampola period and fairly well preserved. The murals on the outer walls had been conserved by the central cultural fund.

This building was declared as a protected archaeological monument in 21 October 2010.

References

  1. Seneviratna, A., 1983. Kandy: an Illustrated Survey of Ancient Monuments With Historical, Archaeological and Literary Descriptions Including Maps of the City and Its Suburbs. Colombo: Central Cultural Fund, Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
  2. Abeyawardhana, H. A. P. (2004) Heritage of Kandurata: Major Natural, Cultural, and Historic Sites. Kandy: Kandurata Development Bank, in association with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Also See

  • Kandy – The Last Kingdom of Sinhale

Map of the Nagavimana Kande Viharaya (Naga Vimanaya)

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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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Traveling Directions to Nagavimana Kande Viharaya (Naga Vimanaya)

Kandy can be reached from Colombo on the old Colombo – Kandy road (option 1) which is scenic but heavy in traffic, especially on Fridays and Sundays. However, the new Central Expressway (option 2) has opened up a new route which is longer but less cumbersome.

Route 1 from Colombo to KandyRoute 2 from Colombo to Kandy
Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala
Distance :150 km
Travel time: 3.20 hours
Driving Directions : see on Google map
Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala
Distance :150 km
Travel Time: 3.20 hours
Driving Directions : see on Google map
Route From Nuwara Eliya to Kandy
Through : Walapane – Raja Mawatha
Distance :100 km
Travel Time : 3.0 hours
Driving Directions : see on Google map

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