Pilimatalawa

Pilimatalawa

Pilimathalawa is a suburb of the city of Kandy in Kandy District, Sri Lanka. The town is situated 10 km away from Kandy the district capital and 104 km away from Colombo.

History

The meaning of "Thalawa" is the flat area in Sinhalese. "Pilima" means the statues. The real name may be or not created by those. The ancient village name has now got standardised to Pilimathalawa, sometimes spelled as Pilimatalawa. This village is famous for Traditional Brassware. Gadaladeniya, Lankathilaka Buddhist temples and Embekka temple are important places around Pilimathalawa; it is also the home of the Theological College of Lanka.

Attractions

Gadaladeniya
Gadaladeniya Temple in Sri Lanka is an old monastery built over a rock in Diggala in the district of Kandy. According to an inscription carved into the walls, the temple was built in 1344 AD by King Buwanekabaghu the fourth. The temple was designed by the South Indian architect Ganesvarachchari in a design similar to South Indian architecture.

Lankathilaka Buddhist temples
Lankatilaka is Buddhist temple of the 14th century in the Hiyarapitiya village, from the Udu Nuwara area of Kandy District in Sri Lanka. This historical temple was built by the Gampola king, King Buwanekabahu the fourth (1341 – 1351AD), in 1344 AD. Gampola was a stronghold on the banks of Mahaveli River.

Embekka temple
Embekka Devalaya (Embekka Temple) was built by the King Vikramabahu III of Gampola Era (AD 1357 - 1374) in Sri Lanka. The Devalaya is dedicated to Kataragama deviyo. A local deity called Devatha Bandara is also worshiped at this site. The shrine consists of three sections, the "Sanctum of Garagha", the "Digge" or "Dancing Hall" and the "Hevisi Mandapaya" or the "Drummers' Hall". The Drummers' Hall has drawn the attention of visitors to the site, due to the splendid wood carvings of its ornate pillars and its high pitched roof.

Nelligala International Buddhist Center
Nelligala is a mountain located in Muruthalawa, Kandy. Nelligala International Buddhist Center, well known as Nelligala Temple was built in 2015 on the top of the Nelligala mountain hill.

It is worth mentioning the Nelligala Vihara which is built on a hilltop that is easily accessible in such a background. The buildings of the Nelligala temple are very beautiful with a high construction style of architectural value. The Mahayana Buddha statue, a beautiful feature of the temple, is a perfect display of the golden Buddha statue, the Bo tree in the golden bowl, and the golden stupa combined with the blue sky soothes our minds.

Belumgala
Balumgala is a rock which is situated in Kadugannawa. (10 km away from Pilimathalawa). Located at the Kadugannawa Gap, Balumgala is very well visible from the Pahala Kadugannawa general viewing point. Balumgala rock gives amazing views of the entire Kadugannawa valley. There is another small rock close by which many mistake to be the Balumgala rock itself.