Dambadeniya Kingdom & Temple of truth

Dambadeniya on the Kurunegala - Nigombo road was a Royal capital in mid in the 13th century. Excavations have uncoverd remains of the temple of the tooth relic and the Royal palace, ponds and Garden layouts, moats & city walls etc.
King Vijayabahu III (1232 AD - 1236 AD) is the first king of Dambadeniya kingdom. Native Sinhalese began to move to the south or “Maya rata” because of the hard Tamil ruler Kalinga Magha as mentioned in Polonnaruwa kingdom. While he was the king of Polonnaruwa, king Vijayabahu III (a descendant of king Sirisangabo) became the king of Dambadeniya.

He conveyed tooth relic and Lord Buddha's alms bowl to Dambadeniya from its hiding place Kotmale. His reign was largely spent reconstructing the shattered Buddhist infrastructure of the Sinhalese.
The picture shown is Vijayasundararama temple at Dambadeniya which was used as the tooth relic shrine in Dambadeniya era.Then his elder son Parakramabahu II (1236 AD - 1271AD) became the king of Dambadeniya and he recovered Polonnaruwa from Kalinga people by 1244 AD. His nick name was "Kalikala Sahithya Sarvagnana Panditha Parakramabahu" because he was a great poet and experienced in literature. Kav Silumina is one of his creations. Then he abdicated in favor of his eldest son VijayaBahu and he was sent for the completion of recovery of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura areas.

King Vijayabahu IV (1271 AD to 1273 AD) became the sole king after king Panditha Parakramabahu's death. He could bare the crown only for 2 years because he was assassinated by his general Mitta. Next king of the country was king Vijayabahu's younger brother Buwanekabahu and he moved the capital from Dambadeniya to Yapahuwa.

Dambadeniya is a destroyed ancient city situated in the North Western Province(Wayamba] province of Sri Lanka that served as the capital of Sri Lanka in the mid 13th century. Much of Dambadeniya still lies buried on a huge fortified rock. Dambadeniya is situated about 31 km from Kurunegala, the modern day capital of the North Western (Wayamba) province. It is believed that the Dambadeniya period was the 'Golden Era' of Sinhalese Literature.

St. Clare Falls (Little Niagara of Sri Lanka):

Location: Talawakele, Nuwara-Eliya, Sri Lanka
Height: 80 – 90m

St. Clare is one of the widest and most beautiful water in Sri Lanka. Roughly are 80 to 90 meters high and the water source is kothmale oya. This is situated few kilometers far from Talawakele town on Hatton Talawakele Highway in Nuwara-Eliya District in central Sri Lanka. The name “St. Clare” came from a tea state near by the water fall. This is among the 1st 25 highest water falls in Sri Lanka. The complete water fall contains two drops meaning it is created from two small waterfalls. The top part of the fall is roughly 50 meters high and the lower part is roughly 30 meters high.





The best way to visit the St. Clare falls is by the train. Anybody can take a train from capital Colombo to Talawakele or Hatton and can take a bus to St. Clare falls which is going from Nuwara-Eliya to Hatton or Nuwara-Eliya to Gampoala. The other way is to visit the St. Clare is use the bus service. Buses also have in many ways like luxury services, general bus service operated by government or private sector. From capital Colombo traveler can take a bus to Hatton and from Hatton you can take bus to St. Clare falls.



The waterfall is near by a beautiful tea state and any traveler can take great experience. Also in front of the waterfall there is a nice restaurant where travelers can have a nice original Sri Lankan tea and a snack.

Sigiriya (The lion’s Rock)

Sigiriya is a Sri Lankan heritage rock fortress situated in the central province matale district of Sri Lanka. It is within the cultural triangle, which includes five of the seven world heritage site in Sri Lanka. It is surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. This also named as a world heritage by UNESO also this is one of the seven world heritage site. The Sigiriya is a huge rock which is made from hardened magma. It stands high above the surrounding plain, visible for miles in all directions.



The rock rests on a steep mound that rises from the flat plain surrounding. The rock itself 370 m (1,214 ft) high from the sea level and is sheer on all sides, in many places overhanging the base. It is elliptical in shape and has a flat top.
The sigiriya kingdom was built by great king kashyapa who was son of a non-royal consort of former great king Dathusens in AD 477- 495. Tha king kashyapa moved the capital and his residence from the traditional capital of Anuradhapura to the more secure Sigiriya to protect from king Moggallana who was the original son of king dathusena who fled to south India to protect from king kashyapa.
During King Kasyapa’s era Sigiriya was developed into a city and fortress. It includes the rock summit around it, including protective structures like guard rooms for soldiers and some structures from water, and gardens.
When we consider the sigiriya site plan it is one of the most important city plans in Sri Lankan history which can considered as very imaginative and creative. The garden planning is also wonderful. The kings royal garden contains water retaining structures, including sophisticated surface/subsurface hydraulic systems, some of which are working even today. The gardens are divided into three distinct but linked forms; water gardens, Cave and boulder gardens, and terraced gardens.
The water gardens can be seen in the central section of the garden. The boulder garden consists several large boulders linked with winding pathways. The boulder gardens extend from the northern slopes to the southern slopes of the hills at the foot of Sigiriya Mountain. The terraced gardens are formed from the natural hill at the base of the Sigiriya rock.
And the other main part of sigiriya is “the mirror wall”. Originally this wall was well polished that the king could see himself whilst he walked alongside it. Made of a kind of porcelain, the wall is now partially covered with verses scribbled by visitors to the rock. Well preserved, the mirror wall has verses dating from the 8th century. People of all types wrote on the wall, on varying subjects such as love, irony, and experiences of all sorts.
The most important part of the sigiriya kingdom is the world famous sigiri frescos. The paintings have covered most of the western face of the rock, covering an area of roughly 1000 square meters. In most of the frescoes there are ladies with followers with their hands. All frescoes are pictures of ladies with top body part which are nude. Sigiriya frescoes are similar to Ajanta caves wall fresco in India.

Adisham Bungalow (Haputale-Sri Lanka)

Adisham bungalow is a beautiful place in haputale, central sri lanka approximately 200km far from capital Colombo. It is situated inside Tangamalai Bird sanctuary and is a part of Glenanore Tea Estate. I and our team have visited number of times, and it is one of most beautiful in Sri Lanka. This was built by Tomas Viller a british citizen in 1920 decade who was the chairman of George Steuart’s trading and estate agency house in Colombo. The house was designed in the Tudor style, on the lines of Leeds Castle in Kent, with stout granite walls of locally quarried stone. The roof was covered with flat Burma teak shingles. The doors, windows, paneling, staircase and floors were all of Burma teak. The garden lay-out was also British and, as in the house, the incomparable scenery is used to best effect. This is in 1,800 and 2,100m above from the sea level. Now it is serves as a monastery for the Catholic monks for their religious activities. It is Very good place for a Holiday of relaxation.
one way to travel to Adisham by Buses from Colombo to Badulla (Route 99) pass through Haputale, the nearest town for Adisham, and you can take a local taxi from there.
I think the best way to travel to Haputale is by train which is a nice journey to haputale from colombo

Devon Falls (Nuwara Eliya)

Devon Falls is situated 6 km west of Talawakele, Nuwara Eliya District on A7 highway in Sri Lanka. The falls is named after a pioneer English coffee planter called Devon, whose plantation is situated nearby the falls. It is 97 meters high and ranked 19th highest in Sri Lanka. The Falls formed by Kothmale Oya, a tributary of Mahaweli River. Altitude of Devon falls is 1,140m above sea level.

Trip to Dambadeniya

Dambadeniya, about 30 km south-west of Kurunegala, became prominent in the mid-13th century when the capital was moved there by Parakramabahu II (1236- 1270 together with the Tooth Relic. Little remains of the palace buildings, though 6 ponds are still there. The 2-storey temple (originally three) about 400m south, which has Buddha images, is identified as the Vijayasundaramaya. It has some interesting wall paintings dating from the 18th century, when it was restored. It was used to exhibit the Tooth Relic, which was normally housed in another temple near the palace.Dambadeniya, on the Kurunegala - Nigombo road, was a Royal capital in the mid 13th century. Excavations have uncovered remains of the temple of the Tooth Relic and the Royal Palace, ponds and garden layouts, moats and city walls etc. Dambadeniya is historic in nature and majestic in repose. It was selected as the capital of the kingdom of Sri Lanka by king Vijayabahu the 3rd (1232 - 36). The sovereignty of the country was at stake as a result of invasions, which dislodged Polonnaruwa as the capital. Vijayabahu, the king of the Dambadeniya dynasty fought the invaders and established Dambadeniya. On the summit of the Dambadeniya rock he built fortifications and sturdy walls and gates. The city was made secure in its day by a moat, a marsh and ramparts round the royal palace. During the reign of king Parakramabahu (1236-70), Dambadeniya reached the zenith of its glory.