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Photo Credits : Lahiru kulasekara
The small town of Walala lies in Kandy district between Madawala and Rajawella, 2.6km from Madawala and 5.5km from Rajawella. From Walala junction, take the Vawinna Road for few hundred meters to reach the temple.
Among the newer buildings you will come across a Tampita Viharaya, a temple on pillars.
Tampita Vihara was a popular architectural feature during the Kandyan kingdom where the temple was built on a platform which was held on an array of pillars, mostly stone.
Walala Tampita Viharaya is built on 25 stone pillars 48cm high. A small circumambulating path has been built around the inner chamber of the viharaya. The front and the two sides of the path is 66cm wide, barely enough for a person to walk. The path at the rear is even smaller, 61cm wide. The inner sanctum (image house) is 4.42 meters long and 2.80 meters wide. The whole structure is 5.74 meters long and 4.11 meters wide. The roof is held by 18 wooden pillars rising from the raised floor. These pillars have simple carvings on them. A wooden staircase provides the entrance to the structure. This outer door frame is a plain wooden structure with a carving of two intertwined peacocks (Monara Pootuwa). This door opens up to the circumambulating path and the main entrance to to the inner chamber.
Entrance to the main image house is through the next even larger wooden door frame built with the Chandrawanka design. Two statues of guardian deities stand upright beside the entrance. A paining of Sun and the Moon is drawn above the deities. This door frame is heavily painted in various floral and creeper designs.
Inside the inner chamber lies the main seated Buddha statue facing the door. A halo around the Buddha is drawn in typical flame style. Pictures of Sariyuth and Mugalan Theros are drawn beside the Buddha statue. Four larger than life standing Buddha statues are erected on the sidewalls. All statues are complete with the head dress as well as the halo around the whole body.
An elongated mandapa is built in front of the Tampita Viharaya. This is completely a brick and mortar structure. There are openings to enter this mandapa from the front and the sides. To commemorate the 2500 year Sambuddha Jayanthi, a bell tower with a pandol like structure has been built in 1956 in front connected to this mandapa.
References
Also See
- Tampita Vihara of Sri Lanka Index
- Ancient Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Map of Walala Tampita Viharaya
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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Travel Directions to Walala Tampita Viharaya
Kandy can be reached from Colombo on the old Colombo – Kandy road (option 1) which is scenic but heavy in traffic specially 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 Kandy | Route 2 from Colombo to Kandy |
| Through : Kadawata – Warakapola – Ambepussa – Mawanella Distance :120 km Travel time : 3.45 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 |
| From Kandy to Walala Tampita Viharaya |
| Though : Lewella Distance : 12 km Travel time : 30 mins Time to Spend : about 30 minutes Driving directions : see on Google Map |
