Kande Viharaya stands on a hill in Aluthgama; “Kanda” means “hill” in Sinhala. Its location and the meaning of its name give the temple a distinctive connection to the area. The grounds bring together religious architecture, artworks and an ancient Bodhi tree. Nearby, a former residence with an art collection and the Kaluwamodara River offer further points of interest in their own right.

Kande Viharaya: Architecture and Visual Art

The grounds include a stupa, a Bo tree, an image house, a relic chamber and several Devalas dedicated to the deities Upulvan, Kataragama and Paththini. These dedications represent different religious associations, while the stupa, image house and relic chamber define the complex’s architectural character.

The stupa at Kande Viharaya is bell-shaped and stands within an octagonal protective structure. The bell shape describes the stupa itself, while the octagon refers to its protective enclosure. This makes it possible to distinguish two different architectural forms within the complex, rather than treating the stupa and its enclosure as a single element. The Bodhi tree is estimated to be more than 300 years old, adding a sense of history to the grounds alongside their architectural features.

The image house has an inner and an outer chamber. The inner chamber contains standing, seated and reclining Buddha statues. The division into two chambers and the statues’ different poses offer two specific points of reference for appreciating its design: the layout of the space and the artworks within it. Kande Viharaya’s interior walls and ceiling feature murals from the Kandyan period. The statues and murals create different visual effects: the statues vary in posture, while the murals cover both walls and ceiling. A museum and a library are located outside the temple.

Brief Garden and the River Surroundings

Brief Garden is nearby, three kilometres inland from Aluthgama. The house there was formerly the residence of Bevis Bawa, the brother of architect Geoffrey Bawa. It features a diverse art collection, including homoerotic sculptures and a mural depicting Sri Lankan life in the style of Marc Chagall. This collection provides a different cultural focus from the religious architecture and artworks of Kande Viharaya.

The Kaluwamodara River is also near Aluthgama. Its calm waters and the lush surrounding vegetation provide a setting for leisurely boat trips or riverside walks. A boat trip and a walk make different use of the same river surroundings: one from the water, the other near the bank. The locations differ: Kande Viharaya is in Aluthgama, Brief Garden is three kilometres inland, and the river is nearby.

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Go to the main travel overview: Kalutara.