Kandy: Three Temple Loop

When the British appeared in Sri Lanka, the Dutch controlled much of the coastal area, and Kandy was still the seat of the Sri Lankan monarchy. Much of the royal palace was destroyed by the British conquerors, save for the Tooth Relic Temple, which is the main draw for Kandy.

I was really tempted by Stage 1 of the Pekoe Trail, but the weather was hot, so we opted for the Three Temple Loop walk outside Kandy, a 7km walk that connects the Embekke, Lankathilake, and Gadaladeniya Buddhist temples all dating from the 14th century. It turned out to be a good outing. I was amazed by the wood carving at Embekke: 1)old wooden structures rarely survive - they must be rainforest wood 2)the intricate carvings are reminiscent of stone carvings from the same period in church cloisters in Europe - but these are finer.

Lankathilake is particularly photogenic, embellished with elephant sculptures coming out of the walls, and it also has a Hindu side. Hmmmm. There was some ritual going on, which we didn't quite understand until we visited the Tooth Relic Temple.

Gadaladeniya Temple, apparently in perpetual renovation, is known for its ancient stone carvings. Today, the nearby villages are known for their brasswork (see below).

Embekka Dewalaya Buddhist Temple.


The amazing carvings on the wooden columns: "Wrestlers, Swans, Lion and Elephant Fight, Warrior"












There was a rice granary in the temple complex. Rice = wealth = power.


One of the several Buddha images.


A well-behaved, 4-bus-load group of school kids came in as we were leaving.


On the walk to the second temple we passed a mosque, a White-Throated Kingfisher, a traditional pambaya (traditional Sri Lankan scarecrow with a realistic head), and farmers harvesting rice.










The Lankathilaka Temple is perched on the top of a large rock outcrop - large not huge. Later in the trip we would see huge. The south approach has steps cut out of the granite.




This temple also had a granary.


There was a ceremony in action when we arrived, similar but way smaller than the one we would see in Kandy the next day. Check out the elephants coming out of the wall in the upper right (below).


The temple is a brilliant white so in the photos below it's hard to see the elephant sculptures in the walls.




Guardians and Doors.


The innermost room of the temple and its three large images of the Buddha.




And another few kilometers down the road to Gadaladeniya, the last of the three temples.




We ride a local bus back to Kandy...


... and relax at the hotel pool.