Wellawaya

The ruins of Buduruwagala Rock Temple, are dating back to the ninth or 10th century. This rock has seven ancient Buddhist figures carved into the face of a large cliff. The largest measures 51 feet / 15.5 metres high, making it the tallest Buddha statue in Sri Lanka. The giant Buddha figure is situated at the centre of the cliff face, flanked by three smaller statues on both sides. On the right are depictions of the Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, the Goddess Tara, and Prince Sudhana. On the left are Maitree Bodhisattva, and Vajrapani Bodhisattva. These all are figures from the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism. You can see faint orange hue on the tallest statue, suggesting that the carvings were probably painted originally. Several square niches are carved into the rock above the statues, their use is so far unknown. By the right foot of the Buddha is a hole shaped like a flame. The deepest reaches of this hole are always wet with a substance that smells like mustard oil. It is speculated that Buduruwagala (which roughly translates to “rock with Buddha statues”) was a hermitage site for Mahayana Buddhist monks, but no information other than the approximate age of the carvings has come to light so far. These days, a small number of monks reside here in a modern building.