Devinuwara Temple & Upulvan Devalaya

As I always say Sri Lanka is known for its multicultural identity! Especially between Sinhalese and Tamils, there has been a close bond for thousands of years. Eventhough, the majority are Buddhists, we respect other religions and often you can see Hindu shrines inside Buddhist temples.

Devinuwara Temple & Upulvan Devalaya is a such kind of place combining the proud culture of both Buddhism and Hinduism.

Devinuwara, also known as Dondra, is a historically and spiritually significant location in Sri Lanka. It's the southernmost part of the country and, earlier I shared about another tourist attraction Point of Dondra & Lighthouse, near the temple as well.

Devinuwara means "the city of Gods." With many tales and stories, the temple is highly respected by Buddhists and crowded especially around the annual perahera season.

I often visit the place when I reach down South and here is a small review of the place.

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The route

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It's located around 5.5km from Matara town and near the old Tangalle main road. If you start the journey from the Pettah main bus stand, it will take around 2.5 hours from the Southern Expressway. The location is very easy to find and, you can plan the trip accompanying some other major tourist attractions in the area as well.

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You will see a huge entrance door near the road, and the giant Buddha statue in the above image is visible. There's a small sand path to walk to the temple.

There will be no entrance fees for the visitors nor for the tourists as well. And you can visit the place until 06.00 p.m starting from early in the morning every day. And don't worry about the parking too, there are plenty of spaces available.

Images Inside the temple

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As I said earlier, there are two parts here. The temple is mainly associated with Buddhism. We can worship, offer flowers to Lord Buddha, mediate near the Bo tree, and see the images relevant to special occasions related to Buddhism as well.

According to the sources, this was started by King Dappula I (Dappula-sen) in the 7th century AD. Later, King Parakramabahu II, Kings Parakramabahu VI, Vijayabahu VII, Bhuvanekabahu VII, and many others reconstructed and reconstructed the place to the current version. It has been built in the Chera style of classical Dravidian architecture.

Bo Tree

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The other part of the temple is dedicated to Hinduism. Lor Upulvan/ Lord Vishnu is one of the principal deities in Hinduism and is worshipped here as the guardian of Sri Lanka. So, there are special shrines and places for worship for him as well. People believe that Lord Vishnu himself protects the island of Sri Lanka from harm, and the temple serves as a sacred place for his blessings.

Around July/ August an annual perahara is held here with a big organization and crowd. It features traditional dancers, drummers, decorated elephants, and religious rituals,

Sri Upulwan Devalaya

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The seating area

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For visitors, there's a small park with benches and a beautiful garden. We can relax there, eat and spent some time as well.

So, I believe this is much visit destination if you are traveling around Down South of Sri Lanka.

External Links to explore

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dondra

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So, that's it for today!! Until the next time! Enjoy!

Thank you.
Best Regards!