WELCOME TO WAYAMBA

wayamba Flg

   Wayamba, Sri Lanka's bountiful and varied North - Western Province is richly endowed  with classic holiday attractions. Over two hundred kilometers of sundrenched tropical beaches fringe warm, pure seas and placid lagoons and make ideal bases for relaxed, enjoyable, fun-filled vacations and for sight –seeing  the North – Western Province's diverse and exciting  attractions.

     These attractions include impressive archeological treasures -  Wayamba was choice of Sri Lanka's king for medieval  capitals – animal and bird sanctuaries, monuments of its European colonial period, unique and fascinating festivals, arts and craft, life-styles and folklore.

      Predominantly ( 80% ) rural, Wayamba is blessed with much natural beauty and charm its spreading green plains distinctively strewn with large rock outcrops. Vast coconut plantations, carefully tended garden and mango, papaya and cashew orchards present a picture of pastoral peace, plenty and contentment. The North- Western Province's graphite mines at Kahatagaha yield a precious mineral resource and its rich fishing grounds and flourishing farmland, orchards and plantations  ensure an abundance of delicious sea-food, fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy and other to delight visitors.

    The fifth largest province in Sri Lanka, some of Wayamba's  beaches and other attractions lie half  hour's drive from the Katunayake International Airport; its capital Kurunegala is just two hours away from Colombo and 45 minutes from the hill capital and tourist resort of Kandy. The whole province is well served with good road and rail routes and modern communications: Kurunegala is a highly accessible major hub of  important cross – country road and rail routes and makes a convenient transit stopover for north, south, east and bound traffic.

   The friendly people of Wayamba, famed for their welcomeing hospitality, complete and enhance a delightful, rewarding and unique holiday experience which will always be remembered with pleasure.

The Wayamba Province

If the paradise is Sri Lanka. Wayamba the North Western Province is truly Eden. It is one boundless garden dotted by million of coconut palms. It is a lovely country with placid rivers, thousands of manmade lakes, natural lagoons, lush green forests, with the warm water of the Indian Ocean lapping its coastlines.

   Nature has been more than generous to Wayamba. The land slopes from the Kandyan hills to the Western Sea coast and is undulating with rivers draining the land in and East - West direction. The climate and soils are conducive, to good living. It is a bounting region with coconuts, paddy and tree crops. Undeveloped land is difficult to find. Recent investigation show that it is blessed with a variety of mineral resources.

   Sri Lankan Civilization commence in Wayamba with the landing of Prince Vijaya in 543 B.C. the people of the North - Western Province or Wayamba are proud of this fact. The first capital of Sri Lanka was Panduwasnuwara in Wayamba. The magnificent ruins of the city which are well preserved bear testimony to the level of development achieved even then.

   The capital later shifted to Anuradhapura but Wayamba was always in the forefront as a major agricultural zone and a centre for culture and learning. In the  13^th century the capital of Sri Lanka was once again shifted to Wayamba.

   The development in the province through history has had a salutary effect on the people of  Wayamba. The inherent skills of the people, the highly - cultured traditions, their trainability are all attributed to this fact. This has led to it being one of the most intensively developed regions of the country.

   It has an irrigation system based on small thanks, the structures of some of which go back to medieval times and earlier, under which lie some of the best paddies in the country.

   Major irrigation works, minor village works and seasonal rainfall sustain paddy cultivation in Wayamba. The country's premier Paddy Breeding Station is located, at Batalagoda in Wayamba.

    But, by far the most economically important  agricultural crop is coconut. The coconut triangle of Sri Lanka lies within Wayamba. Its apex research organization, the Coconut Research Institute is also located within Wayamba.

     Wayamba offers challenges in intensified agriculture and intercropping in the sprawling coconut area, with new crops and dairy farming and has vast resources for industrialization.

The golden beaches of wayamba

The sparking blue surf of the Indian ocean and scenic tropical lagoons which edge the western shores of the north-western province are gilded with 240 kilometers of wide, sun-drenched, soft-sand beaches which stretch from waikkal at its southern end to Dutch bay in the puttalama peninsula.

    Some of wayamba's best resort beaches are at marawila, talawila, kalpitiya and waikkal, often with the bonus of a sea as well as a lagoon or river front and make excellent bases for stay-put beach holidays. these resorts offer superb aqua-sports options such as swimming, wind-surfing, sailing, canoeing, speedboat racing, deep-sea, lagoon and river fishing, diving, snorkeling and viewing the underwater wonderlands of coral off kandakuliya and karaitivu. The fishing village which dot the coast, where age-old catamaran boats are still some-times used and the noisy markets and fairs held when the catch comes in each morning, are unique and memorable 'sights'.

Visits to animal and bird sanctuaries

            Visitors can view wayamba’s abundant wild life and its beautiful and distinctive natural vegetation in three excellent sanctuaries.

               Part of wilpattu, one of Sri Lanka’S major national parks, lies in wayamba, awilpattu,a beautiful lake-dotted wilderness is famed for its leopards; other animals to be seen in this exciting sanctuary include sloth bear, deer, elephant, sambhur, many varieties of monkeys, wild boar, porcupine and many varieties of rare birds. The possibilities of opening an entrance at the southern end of the wilpattu national park for the convenience of visitors entering directly from wayamba are being investigated.

            The recently declared wild life sanctuary at kahalla pallekele is an ideal spot to view herds of wild elephants, sambhur, deer, monkey and mongoose. Mundel, a large, picturesque, forested lagoon in the puttalama peninsula offers sanctuary to numerous aquatic birds such as stork, duck, water-fowl, spoonbill, flamingo, egret, heron, ibis, pelican, kingfisher,hornbill, teal and many varieties of highland march, large flocks of winter migrants can be seen.

Archaeological Sites

  The north Western Province is a treasure hone of archaeology, having been the seat of four medieval kingdoms of Sri Lanka between the mid-   century and the mid fourteenth. Forced to move capitals frequently due to foreign invasion, Sri Lanka’s kings nevertheless built handsome citadels at Panduwasnuwara, Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa and Kurunegala. Impressive remains of those citadels-fortresses, palaces, Buddhist temples, shrines, monasteries and hermitages, walls and moats as well as monuments of much earlier ( even pre- Christian ) and later European colonial periods, provide exciting sightseeing to visitors.

Panduwasnuwara

 The oldest of the royal capitals in the North-Western Province was Paduwasnuwara, easily accessible an the Chilaw-Wariyapola road. Legend claims Paduwasnuwara as the capital of King Panduwadeva ( circa  C.B.C ), successor of Vijaya, founder of the Indo-Aryan dynasty of Sri Lanka. The archaeological remains however date from the  century. A.D. as this was the interim capital of Parakramabahu I, s stepping stone to his great citadel at polonnaruwa. The impressive, sprawling ( fifty-acre), moated and walled “sleeping city ”, some of it still unexcavated, was an expertly planned and well laid-out metropolis of stately palace, royal audience hall, storehouses, granaries, monastic complexes, shrines, bath-houses, toilets and ponds. Beautifully proportioned platforms, terrces, pavements and doorways enhance its architecture, handsome stone sculptures and carvings record adorn it and rock inscriptions record its events and happenings. The small archaeological museum has an interesting collection of period antiquities unearthed during excavations consisting of sculptures, carving, coin and jewellery. Panduwasnuwara is a ‘must ’ on any Wayamba itinerary and is approximately 39Km, from Kurunegala, the provincial capital.

 Arankele

            The fascinating sixth centure Buddhist fores hermitage of Arankele, where the saintly hermit monk Maliyadeva and other hermits and sages lived in solitude and neditation is anther of Wayamba’s memorable experiences. Arankele is in two parts – impressive ancient hermitage consists of moats, waterways and stone walls, a complete ancient hospital with stone herbal bath, herb-grinder, sick rooms, meditation and preaching halls, a large and beautifully designed bath, a handsome circular shrine and a faultless drainage and sanitary system and the ancient Sakman maluwa, the remarkable ‘meditation walk’ paved with dressed stone, shaded by hoary forest trees. And though the walls of ashlar, splendid though unornamented, have fallen and only pillars, platforms, pavements and terraces remain, the path to peace and serenity still runs straight and true at Arankele. Above, on the huge Dolukande rock and ancient herb forest still thrives; its quiet sylvan glades have made the ancient hermitage into a beautiful natural bird sanctuary. West of the ancient complex, a hermit community of about twenty five monks live in solitude and deep meditation in bare cell and caves in the forest. Devotees visit the monastery daily to bring offerings of food, drink and other necessities to the monks, listen to discourses and meditate; a visit will give an interesting insight to Buddhist contemplative life. Arankele is an easily accessible 25 km, from the provincial capital, Kurunegala

 Haththakuchi & Rajangane

Haththakuchchi (“Elephant’s belly”) near galgamuwa, ic an impressive rock temple complex of great atmosphere, dating back to the  century B.C.; it is also closely associated with legends of the heroic and saintly King Sri Sangabo. Built reveled a group of four handsome shrines and a curious rotunda, probably and image house with pavement and foundations intact.

            A similar ancient  century complex is found at Rajangane, also near Galgamuwa. A handsome circular pillared shrine with four entrances, raised on a terraced platform, many other notable structures, cave shrines, ponds an d1st to century A.D. rock inscriptions make this an ancient site of much interest.


 Rock Temple

         Wayamba contains no less than ten other ancient Buddhist rock temple, mostly with century B.C. roots, with wall and ceiling frescoes, colossal Buddha images, stone inscriptions and sculptures dating from the early medieval to the  century ( Kandyan ) period. Among these temples which make a dramatic impact, are full of the atmosphere of a far-age  and well worth visiting are Paramakanda, with its curious  century A.D. rock inscription on the fishing tax, Wellagala, with its remarkable wall paintings and gigantic ( 32 cubit ) reclining Buddha, Madawala, which has a beautiful entrance arch carved with mythical beasts and the Resvehera ( Sasseruwa), famed for its stunning 40-ft, rock cut standing Buddha, of century vintage. The Raja maha Vihara at Nagolla has priceless ancient manuscripts and bronzes, Kebellelena, old wall paintings and gigantic sculptures and at the Ridi Vihara ( the Silver Temple ) visitors will see and  century wall paintings, an exquisite medieval doorway with intricate carving of ivory inlay, a curious pavement inside the main sanctuary, of Delft tiles on Biblical themes, (the gift of an  century Dutch Consul ) and a beautifully cared moonstone ( stepping stone ) of the pre-  century classical period. Most rock temples also have entrancing views of the surrounding countryside, perched as they are on precipitous rock summits.

         The North-Western Province also has a number of  medieval temples and edifices raised on pillars or small boulders such as Kahatawilagedera Tampita Vihare, the Dorabawila, Bihalpola Vijayarama, Budumuttewa and Dalukgolla temples. All of them contain medieval period wall paintings, sculpture, carvings, woodwork, images and distinctive period architecture and are worth visiting. The beautiful century wayside rest-hall, the Panavitiya Ambalama is an architectural gem, decorated with twenty eight exquisitely carved wooden pillars and ornate beams.

Yapahuwa

  The rock fortress complex Yapahuwa is another of the north-Western Province’s star attractions. A citadel built on a huge rock boulder in the style of the fifth century Sigiriya rock fortress, Yapahuwa was a military stronghold against foreign invaders for many years and a beautiful royal capital in the last quarter of the thirteenth century. Well defended, with double ramparts  and moats, Yapahuwa holds many delights for sightseers. These include the remains of the king’s palace, royal audience hall and other stately structures, shrines and baths. Surpassing all these however are the remains of the Temple of the Tooth-protecting and properly housing the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha, the symbol of kingship, was a prime royal duty in Sri Lanka. The majestic stairway is flanked by a pair of beautifully sculptured guardian lions, mythical animal and guardstones. The beautifully proportioned doorway of dressed stone was originally adorend by two windows of delicate stone filigree and graceful sculptures of dancing girls. Animals and decorative motifs. The base of the entrance pillars is momentum with exquisite bas-relief friezes of dancers, drummers and acrobats, masterpieces in stone, of incredible delicacy and elegance.

           A collection of fascinating antiquities including an exquisite stone figure of God Vishnu, on the stone filigree windows from the Temple of the Tooth and a collection of Chinese pottery are on view at the Archaeological museum on the same site. The Yapahuwa Rock Temple which is built into the boulder, has a  century bronze Buddha and some ancient wall paintings and sculptures. Yapahuwa is easily accessible by road and rail, a distance of approximately 45 km, from Kurunegala.