Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the place (it's very well hidden and there are no sign boards), but it's just 600m west of the
waterfalls.
Wellawaya
055
By Wellawaya you have left the Hill Country and descended to the dry plains that were
once home to the ancient Sinhalese kingdom of Ruhunu. Wellawaya is simply a small
crossroads town and, apart from the nearby Buduruwagala carvings, there's not much of
interest in the area. Roads run north through the spectacular Ella Gap to the Hill Country,
south to Tissamaharama and the coast, east to the coast and west to Colombo.
Sights
Buduruwagala
MONUMENT
(admission Rs 200; 6.30am-6pm)
About 5km south of Wellawaya, a side road branches west off the Tissa road to the beauti-
ful, 1000-year-old, rock-cut Buddha figures of Buduruwagala. Surrounded by smaller
carved figures, the gigantic standing Buddha (at 15m, it is the tallest on the island) in the
centre still bears traces of its original stuccoed robe, and a long streak of orange suggests it
was once brightly painted.
The Central Figures
The central of the three figures to the Buddha's right is thought to be the Mahayana
Buddhist figure Avalokiteśvara (the bodhisattva of compassion). To the left of this white-
painted figure is a female figure thought to be his consort, Tara. Local legend says the
third figure represents Prince Sudhana.
The Other Figures
Of the three figures on the Buddha's left-hand side, the crowned figure at the centre of
the group is thought to be Maitreya, the future Buddha. To his left stands Vajrapani, who
holds a vajra (an hourglass-shaped thunderbolt symbol) - an unusual example of the Tan-
tric side of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The figure to the left may be either Vishnu or Saham-
