Yatagala Raja Maha Viharaya, A Unique Temple In Sri Lanka

We travel to a country of Buddhist mysticism. Land of hospitable people, vast beaches, world-famous tea and innumerable temples. Sri Lanka is an island full of ancient treasures. We will visit Kandy and Unawatuna, whose capital retains much of the European aftertaste. From there we will make a getaway to the Yatagala temple.

Stops on our tour

Galle is a city that still preserves the Dutch and British colonial atmosphere of past centuries. Located on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, it is an area that brings together history, spirituality and nature.

Totally turned towards tourism, Galle is dotted with centuries-old buildings, palaces and colonial villas. Many of them are today small boutique hotels , shops and very tasteful restaurants.

We will make a couple of escapes to the very heart of Buddhism, to Unawatuna and Kandy. Further away from the tourist routes we also find the Yatagala temple. A hidden place with a history of more than 2000 years that few tourists come close to, and that is part of its charm.

This is a monastery with huge granite boulders, fabulous stone carvings of the Buddha, and a significant number of unique Buddhist paintings. A lovely trip. Here we go.

A quick tour of history

Sri Lanka is a crossroads of routes and peoples, with a rich mythology and that has always had a magnetic power for travelers and merchants of ancient times.

They say that it was originally inhabited by the Veddas. A name that comes from the Tamil language and means “the hunters”. It is in the 4th century BC when there is evidence of the first kingdom in these lands: Anuradhapura.

Due to its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, this island was always in the sights of the great European empires, which began to arrive with their great ships in the 16th century. The Portuguese, Dutch, and British came one after another, drawn by the trade in cinnamon, ivory, precious stones, and elephants.

In this context, Galle became the largest European fortress in Asia. Port of the kings of the East and West, who came looking for their jewels, their peacocks and their spices.

Here King Solomon came to look for ivory, followed by centuries of the cinnamon trade. Until the arrival of the European settlers, who turned it into an immense fortress.

The mystique of the area

Before heading to the Yatagala temple, there are a couple of getaways worth doing from Galle. For seekers of Buddhist mysticism, this land is a bottomless pit. An important excursion is Kandy. It was the scene of one of the most important events in the history and culture of Sri Lanka.

Legend has it that a tooth of Buddha arrived in Anuradhapura. This caused Buddhism to gain an important relevance in the kingdom. This generated a unique cultural identity, the Sinhalese. The relic is kept in the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.

To understand the importance of this fact, one must know that the Buddha warned that only another Buddha or Arahant could possess a relic of the Buddha’s body. This means that in these lands there is an “awakened” being, an advanced monk who is in charge of the relic. These monks are usually not accessible.

Unawatuna is also accessible from Galle by short tuk tuk journeys. A seaside town in the Galle district that has its roots in the great epic Ramayana.

It happened when Lakshman, Rama’s younger brother, was injured while trying to rescue Princess Sita. The princess was kidnapped by the demon-king Ravana. During the rescue, a part of Sita “fell” in the place where the present Unawatuna is located today.

The name of the city actually means “fall. ” Off the coast of Unawatuna there are several coral reefs, shipwrecks and a wide variety of fish and turtles. Turtles can still be seen wading shore to lay their eggs.

Yatagala temple

The Buddhist monastery was built by King Dewanampiyathissa. It is accessed via a grand staircase that leads to a garden of giant granite rocks that seem to support each other. From there you can see the rice fields and nearby palm groves.

The rocks are adorned with a multitude of flowers and with the donations that the pilgrims carry with them. At the end of the staircase we are greeted by a large statue of the Buddha, nine meters high in a state of meditation. The Buddha is located next to the pagoda and a large terrace.

The rocks are believed to have been placed around a sacred Bodhi tree. To the left of the large Buddha statue is the main temple building, where the huge reclining Buddha statue is located. It dates from the 15th or 16th century.

The cave temples are adorned with intricate Buddhist frescoes and feature winding paths that lead to hidden shrines. The entire temple is built around a great mass of large rocks that hide, in turn, dozens of small caves.

During the last 1500 years, the monks of the Yatagala temple have been making their sanctuaries and houses in the caves formed by the immense rocks that preside over it. It is a pleasure to get lost in its nooks and crannies and find its secret temples.

In search of the Master

If your trip to Sri Lanka has spiritual overtones, you are in the perfect place. In the search for true teachers, monks and nuns of the highest level, the Galle district and temples like Yatagala are a good starting point.

Connecting with the true masters while there is not easy, and it doesn’t have to happen. But if fate wants it, they will find you.