WEWURUKANNALA VIHARA

This temple is dominated by a 50m high concrete statue, built in the 1960s. It is the largest seated Buddha statue in Sri Lanka. The oldest part of the temple dates from the 18th century and was built during the reign of King Rajadhi (1782-1798). The walls of the temple are decorated with hundreds of frescoes depicting events in the life of the Buddha. The shrine also features kitschy stucco representations of deities from the Hindu pantheon. The temple's small museum houses a large clock dating from 1928 that still strikes the Thewawa, the hours of service, morning and evening.

Before entering the Buddha statue, you will have to pass through the "hell tunnel": an impressive concentration of demons illustrates what awaits in the other world the unwary who would have the bad idea not to follow the teaching of the monks. Life-size plaster mannequins stage the less refined Buddhist tortures: immersion in boiling cauldrons, evisceration, dismemberment... The demons are differentiated from humans by their long canines. After passing through this tunnel, it is possible to climb to the top of the Buddha statue by the staircase hidden in its back. From up there, the view of the surrounding countryside and the white pagodas which point here and there is striking.

A word of advice: keep your socks on, as the sun-heated floor of the complex can be hot and you will need to leave your shoes at the entrance.