Sri Dalada Maligawa

Sri Dalada Maligawa

Outside view of the Temple

Main article: Temple of the Tooth

The Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a temple in the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka. It was built within the royal palace complex which houses the tooth relic of the Buddha, a tooth, which is venerated by Buddhists. The relic has played an important role in the local politics since ancient times, it's believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country, which caused the ancient kings to protect it with great effort. Kandy was the capital of the Sinhalese Kings from 1592 to 1815, fortified by the terrain of the mountains and the difficult approach. The city is a world heritage site declared by UNESCO, in part due to the temple.

Monks of the two chapters of Malwatte and Asgiriya conduct daily ritual worship in the inner chamber of the temple, in annual rotation. They conduct these services three times a day: at dawn, at noon and in the evening.

On Wednesdays there is a symbolic bathing of the Sacred Relic with an herbal preparation made from scented water and flagrant flowers, called Nanumura Mangallaya. This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed among those present.

The Temple has sustained damage from multiple bombings by terrorists in the past, but has been fully restored each time.

Read More

MIRIJJAWILA BOTANICAL GARDEN

MIRIJJAWILA BOTANICAL GARDEN

A botanical garden is being established in Mirijjawila in the Hambantota district. This is the first botanical garden to be established in the dry zone in Sri Lanka

It has an extent of 300 acres. The objective of establishing this botanical garden is for the conservation of dwindling trees and shrubs in the dry zone, popularizing of unpopular trees, conservation of medicinal herbs, promotion of tourism and providing botanical knowledge to the younger generation.

The Garden will comprise ornamental flower cultivation, commercial flower cultivation and facilities to undertake studies on trees. Already planting of various trees and floral varieties has been commenced. Construction of infrastructure facilities is also nearing completion

It will also provide opportunities for eco-tourism and economic development in this area and to model dry zone landscape improvement. In the longer term, within the first 3-5 years, the garden will feature those plants that are lesser known and under utilized in the dry zone promote the herbal industry; and provide education and training on botany and floriculture in the dry zone

This garden being established in a dry landscape would provide much relief and peace of mind to the visitors

Location

This Botanical Garden is located on the Colombo-Kataragama main road. It has the Mattala International Airport on its left side and the Hambantota Harbour on its right side, and therefore it becomes a centre point for the tourists.

Read More

HENARATHGODA BOTANICAL GARDEN

HENARATHGODA BOTANICAL GARDEN

Henarathgoda Botanical Gardens where the first rubber tree planted in Sri Lanka is still present located close to Gampaha Town. Most notable is the Para rubber tree - Hevea brasiliensis. Here at Henarathgoda, in 1876, the first seedlings ever planted in Asia grew and flourished.

This garden is home to trees from every corner of the tropical world - especially from Brazil.

Read More

HAKGALA BOTANICAL GARDEN

HAKGALA BOTANICAL GARDEN

Hakgala Botanic Gardens, about 28 hectares in extent, lie under the shadow of the Hakgala Rock. The Botanic Gardens are locally reputed for their collection, the rose garden, Magnificent trees, indoor plants, flowers. The climate of the Gardens is subtropical, cool and fresh

There are over 10,000 species of flora planted here and during the Spring season in Nuwara Eliya thousands of visitors come to see the blooms here. Number of annual visitors is around 500,000. The garden is famous for number of species of Orchids and Roses are planted there.

For more info www.botanicgardens.gov.lk/hakgala

Read More

PERADENIYA BOTANICAL GARDEN

PERADENIYA BOTANICAL GARDEN

As Sri Lanka’s largest garden an elegant and spacious 147-acres (60-hectares) plenty of time is needed to stroll Peradeniya’s imposing Avenue of Royal Palms.

There are some 4,000 different species of plants at Peradeniya Gardens. The 10,000 or so trees, which are the stars, are mature, lofty giants, many of them tropical timber trees. Highlights of the collection include the Giant Bamboo of Burma, capable of growing to 40 meters height (130 feet) with a 25-centimetre (10-inch) stem diameter. And it can grow by a rapid 30 centimeters a day (12 inches).

Absolutely sensational is the century old giant Javan fig tree, its tentacle like roots spread across the enormous area of about 1,800 square meters (19,375 square feet) a massive central trunk beneath the tree’s vast canopy ‘umbrella’.

The Cannonball tree is also intriguing, with its cannonball-like fruit hanging off the trunk and large open, waxy pink-white flowers. So is the Double Coconut Palm, one of 200 types of palms displayed at Peradeniya – originating from the Seychelles, this tree produces the largest seed known. Its fruits take five years to mature.

The gardens showcase all of Sri Lanka’s flora and representative species from around the tropical world. Luminaries as varied as Queen Elizabeth II , Marshal Tito and Yuri Gugarin have planted trees to mark their visits to the garden.

Read More

Mahaweli River

Mahaweli River (මහවැලි ගඟ)
Mahawaluka nadee
River
Mahaweli River flowing through Gampola
Country	Sri Lanka
Length	335 km (208 mi)

The Mahaweli River (Sinhalese: මහවැලි ගඟ, literally "Great Sandy River"; Tamil: மகாவலி ஆறு [mahawali gangai]),^[2] is a 335 km (208 mi) long river, ranking as the longest river in Sri Lanka. Its drainage basin is the largest in the country, and covers almost one-fifth of the total area of the island. The river reaches the Bay of Bengal on the southwestern side of Trincomalee Bay. The bay includes the first of a number submarine canyons, making Trincomalee one of the finest deep-sea harbors in the world.^[3] The river and its tributaries are dammed at several locations to allow irrigation in the dry zone, with almost 1,000 km² (386 sq mi) of land irrigated.^[4] Production of hydroelectricity from six dams of the Mahaweli system supplies more than 40% of Sri Lanka's electricity needs. One of the many sources of the river is the Kotmale Oya.^[5]

There is a misconception in Sri Lanka that the Mahaweli starts in the Sri Pada mountain. The Mahaweli gets its source waters from Hortain Plains inKirigalpoththa and the Thotupola mountain range.

Read More

Longest Rivers in Sri Lanka

Longest Rivers in Sri Lanka Name of River  Length  Mahaweli Ganga  335 km Aruvi Aru  164 km Kala Oya  148 km Kelani Ganga  145 km Yan Oya  142 km Deduru Oya  142 km Walawe Ganga  138 km Maduru Oya  135 km Maha Oya  134 km Kalu Ganga  129 km Kirindi Oya  117 km Kumbukkan Oya  116 km Menik Oya  114 km Gin Ganga  113 km Mi Oya  109 km Gal Oya  108 km   Rivers of Sri Lanka Rivers Mahavali Rever (Ganga) is the largest of the 103 river basins found in Sri Lanka. It covers about 16% of the island's total area. The river itself has a winding course, rising about 50 km south of Kandy and flowing north then north-east to the sea near Trincomalee covering a distance of 320 km. It is the only perennial river to cross the dry Zone. Sri Lanka’s all perenial revers are called Ganga,while seasonal streams are called Oya in Sinhala or Aru in Tamil. A number of rivers have now been developed both for irrigation and power. The Victoria project on Mahavali Ganga is one of the largest in Asia.

Read More

River map

Print

Read More