Hikkaduwa - Kumara Maha Viharaya Virtual Cache
Hikkaduwa - Kumara Maha Viharaya
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(virtual)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Kumara Maha Viharaya
This picturesque Buddhist temple is located on a small hillock known as Kumarakanda, south of Hikkaduwa, next to the old Colombo - Galle road at Kumarakanda Junction and the Kumarakanda railway station.
I discovered this fine little gem on my first visit to Sri Lanka in December 1983 on a bicycle trip on primitive gravel roads and small paths through the former jungle in the back of Thiranagama: surprisingly it appeared between the juicy green of the forest and palm trees. Today these paths are paved roads lined with houses and busy traffic goes along there. The statue in front of the temple was only erected in 2019.
Reach the open courtyard of the temple by the beautiful flight of steps which is divided into two parts. Ornate half walls virtually serve as a protective railing for devotees who make the steep climb. According to historical notes this temple dates back to 1765 AD, but scholars believe the origin of the temple dates back to much earlier days. They believe the original temple was totally demolished by the European invaders who occupied the south western coastal line in the 16th Century. The architecture is described here as Dutch, there as Portuguese...
In the image house you'll find a beautiful statue of a reclining Buddha and lovingly restored ancient murals showing scenes of Buddhas life. A small area of the oldest remnants of a mural has been left to show visitors how the walls looked originally. Since the temple can not refer to one of the usual superlatives ("the largest lying-sitting-standing buddha statue, ..."), there is only very little touristic traffic here. So perhaps one of the monks will guide you in a more private way, like one of them explained the different buildings and artwork in this temple to me.
And then he will probably also show you their "pets" living in a little basin here - the tortoises! The monks are quiet proud about hosting these up to 200 years old reptiles as one of only very few temples in Sri Lanka.
*** Edit 2022: I have heard that the turtles are no longer to be found? And that there are fish swimming there now instead? Oh, that would be a great pity. Nevertheless: To log this cache please answer the following question to me via messenger or e-mail:
What is the geometric shape of the basin in which the tortoises live (have lived?) here?
1. a perfect circle
2. an oval
3. a perfect square
4. a rectangle
Feel free to log without invitation and fill the gallery with all your beautiful photos - but please, do not post pictures of the turtle basin :) Thank you. And no doubt, you will - like always - behave respectfully in this temple. So I whish you a fascinating, relaxing walk around.
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache, intended as a reward for top hiders. I'm proud to be one of them. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on this Geocaching Blog
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)