Devanagala Viharaya
The
western side has the famous Balana Pass where all the historic Portuguese
invasions of Kandy took place over and over again, where they were trapped
and destroyed. This is on the Colombo-Kandy road from where you can see the
unique scenery of Bible Rock (798m). Also a little below can be seen a shape
of a white dagoba situated on top a bald round rock. It is Devanagala
viharaya and the climb to the top takes about 45 minutes from the bottom of
the rock. The ruins and the 360-degree view are spectacular and give an
insight to impregnability of this highland kingdom. One period belongs to
King Parakrama Bahu I, and the other to the Kandyan King Vimala Dharma
Suriya I. A unique edifice of hewn rock is a masterpiece that once housed
the Sacred Tooth. The other image house is on stone pillars and the carved
doorway and paintings are worthwhile along with a rare footprint with images
of the different types of dagobas.
Duration of visit: ½ day. (can be combined with elephant orphanage in Pinawella)