Kalpe Thammennawahinna (Thammennahinna) Archaeological Reserve lies somewhat in the middle of Anuradhapura – Trincomalee Road. It is 48 km away from Anuradhapura and 61 km away from Trincomalee. Traveling from Anuradhapura passing Mihintale, Kahatagasdigiliya and the Kalpe wewa, you come across the Kalpe Junction, 13 km past Kahatagasdigiliya. From this junction take the gravel road to the left and travel 2 kilometres to reach the Thammennahinna Hills where the ruins lie.
The archaeological site is abandoned by authorities and is covered by the jungle. The main artefact of the site is a fairly large dilapidated stupa. There are several ruins of buildings and stone pillar bases scattered around the site.
A life-size Samadhi Buddha statue which once stood majestically is lying in multiple pieces, destroyed by treasure hunters. The pieces of the statue are kept on a large stone flower altar. The stone pillars of an image house are still well preserved. Nearby lies a stone doorway in its original position.
The ruins are spread along a 500-meter stretch along the hill range. In addition to these ruins, there are several drip ledge caves including one with Brahmi inscriptions. The inscription is too weathered to be read. The whole site is severely damaged by treasure hunters.
The location marked on the Google Map below shows an approximate location. Since these ruins lie inside the forest of Thammennahinna Hills, a guide from the village will be needed to find the site and to avoid wild animals.
References
- Mendis, T., Abeywardana, N. and Dissanayaka, S. (2015) “මධ්ය යාන්ඔය නිම්නය ආශ්රිත පුරාණ ජනාවාස රටාව හා සංස්කෘතික භූ දර්ශනය,” The Journal of Archaeology & Heritage Studies, 2(1).
Also See
Map of Kahatagasdigiliya Kalpe Thammennawahinna Archaeological Reserve
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 Kahatagasdigiliya Kalpe Thammennawahinna Archaeological Reserve
Anuradhapura can be reached through many routes from Colombo. The two main routes are through Puttalam (Puttalama) and through Kurunegala. Travelling from Puttalam, you will pass the scenic Wilpattu area. From Kurunegala, there are two main routes to Anuradhapura. The most common route is through Dambulla. The other route is through Galgamuwa. Out of all the routes, the most commonly used is the Kurunegala-Dambulla route (Route 2).
Route 01 from Colombo to Anuradhapura | Route 02 from Colombo to Anuradhapura |
Through : Negombo – Chilaw – Puttalam Distance from Colombo : 210 km Travel time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map | Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala – Dambulla Distance from Colombo : 223 km Travel Time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google maps |
Route 03 from Colombo to Anuradhapura | Route from Kandy to Anuradhapura |
Through : Katunayake Expressway – Narammala – Wariyapola – Padeniya – Thambuthegama Distance from Colombo :203 km Travel Time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map | Through : Katugastota – Matale – Dambulla Distance from Colombo :136 km Travel Time : 3.5 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map |
Route from Anuradhapura to Kahatagasdigiliya Kalpe Thammennawahinna Archaeological Reserve |
Through : Mihintale – Kahatagasdigiliya Distance : 49 km Travel time : 1 hour Time to spend : 1 hour Driving directions : see on google map |