To make their experience interesting, tourists can pick Sri Lanka travel packages including Ridi Viharaya in their destinations to visit. This Buddhist temple, in the village of Ridigama, was built under the Anuradhapura dynasty. Dutthagamani, the king after defeating Elara of the Chola dynasty, decided to build the Ruwanwelisaya Stupa. Silver was one of the materials needed to construct this grand place of worship. Around that time, some merchants, as they were travelling to the capital from the Central Highlands, found some jackfruit. They cut and offered it to some monks, one of whom guided them to a silver mine. On finding the site, they told their monarch about it, who then used the metal to erect the stupa. As an act of gratitude, he decided to build a Buddhist temple at the site, where the mine lay. Over the time, it was rebuilt and many structures were added by different rulers.

Major Temple

The main temple is carved into a huge rock boulder and is the earliest structure in the area. It is in the shape of a tunnel with a barrel-vaulted roof decorated with circular designs in various colours. An interesting feature of it is that its floor is laid with tiles from the time of the Dutch occupation of the country. Biblical scenes like the expulsion of humans from Paradise and the Last Supper are depicted on them. Inside it are a 2 metres tall statue of Buddha and another idol of him covered with gold. Sculptures of Dutthagamani and Avalokitesvara, an important Buddhist deity, can also be seen here. A unique sculpture here, made of ivory, looks like a vase, but as people get closer, they see intertwined women dancers. Other things include idols of Buddha in different postures and Kandyan symbols, such as entwined females, three lions sharing one head, elephant and bull. Walls of the cave are decorated with paintings depicting scenes from the life of the deity. Channels are carved into the walls to drain the water away from idols.

Other Structures

A rock near the entrance of the complex is said to be the place where the king dressed up before conducting prayers in the temple. It is also said to be the site where the original shrine stood before being destroyed and reconstructed. A pillared-hall, known as Waraka Welandu Viharaya, is thought to be the spot where monks accepted the offering of the jackfruit. It looks like a Hindu temple, but with a gigantic boulder above the sanctum - a site where the conical tower or shikhara should be. Many paintings from the Kandyan era are inside and pillars are decorated with carvings of women - a feature that comes straight from Hinduism.

The hall in front of the central shrine houses a rice bowl and other objects, which were probably used by monks in the past. Uda Viharaya, or the upper temple, has a statue of Buddha sitting under an arch, known as makara thorana. A circular stone, decorated with images of animals, known as moonstone or sandakada pahana is in front of the lord. More things worth seeing here, while on a Sri Lanka holiday, are idols of Hindu deities and paintings of animals and mythical Hindu characters. This site is situated about 94 km from Colombo, the national capital.