The Most Visited Temple- Gangaramaya Temple




History of the temple

Gangaramaya Temple is not only one of the most beautiful but also one of the most iconic Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka. It is more than a century since this temple was constructed; however even today, the temple doesn’t stop to surprise tourists and devotees and is therefore one of the best tourist places in Colombo.

The Most Visited temple in the city, is  the Gangaramaya Temple which organizes Sri Lanka’s largest and the most colourful Vesak festival annually, has a history of 120 years. It was established in 1885 by Venerable Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Nayaka Thera at a time when Buddhist and cultural resurgence were much needed as the country was under the colonial rule.

The area that was once a swamp beside the Beira Lake, has now turned to be an iconic complex which consists of the temple, the assembly hall in the breathtaking lake and the vocational training institute. Earlier, devotees had to cross the Beira Lake on a boat in order to reach the then small temple which was converted to what is today by the Devundara Sri Jinaratana Nayake Thera, a pupil of Venerable Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Nayaka Thera who appointed him as the chief incumbent of the temple.



 

Annual Perahera

One of the grandest festivals of the Gangaramaya Temple, the Navam Perahera, the inception of which dates back to 1979, is held annually in the month of February, displaying the rich religious and cultural tradition of Sri Lanka. It is quite a fascinating sight that hundreds of elephants nicely adorned with elegant costume walk with pride and dignity carrying the casket of the sacred relics while many troupes of traditional drummers, flutists, dancers and other traditional performers and hundreds of Buddhist monks clad in colourful robes, parade in the Perahera.

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