Aluvihara Cave Temple

What?
This is a Buddhist rock cave temple dating back to the 3rd century B.C.

Where?
It is located in Matale District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, about 30 km north of Kandy, along the Matale-Dambulla road, and approximately 144 km from Colombo.

When?
It can be visited all year long, but it is best visited during the dry season (December to April) for easier access and exploration.

Aluvihara Cave Temple is a monastery 3km north of Matale, next to the Kandy-Dambulla road, surrounded by picturesque hills. This temple is one of the most significant landmarks in the history of Sri Lanka and its Buddhism. The great historic significance of this temple is that the Theravada Buddhist canon (Tripitaka scriptures, or Three Baskets) was written down here during the reign of King Walagamba. Before that, the Buddha’s teachings had been only memorized and passed orally from generation to generation.

The Tripitaka consists of rules of conduct for the monks and nuns, the regulations to control the internal affairs of the monks, the Buddha’s sermons, discussions, and library documents, and a collection of 7 treatises, all in accordance with detailed psychological analyses.

The Aluvihara Cave Temple is actually 13 caves situated in a rock. Caves are covered with paintings and statues, such as paintings of Anothaththa Vila, Dahamsonda Jatakaya, Huridattha Jatakaya, and Maithri Bodhisattva. At the entrance, Makara Thorana, figures of Doratupala, paintings of lions, and flags with the sun and the moon can be seen. During the Dutch and British invasions, some Buddhist manuscripts in the temple had been burned and destroyed, but later the British government restored the temple.