Attractions around Hambantota area

We were able to cover the below attractions in and around Hambantota area.

1. Mahapelessa Madunagala Hot Water Wells – මහපැලැස්ස (මදුනාගල) උනු දිය ලිං
2. Bandagiriya Ancient Temple – බඳගිරිය පුරාණ විහාරය
3. Yatala Vehera – යටාල වෙහෙර
4. Ranminithenna Tele Cinema Village – රන්මිණිතැන්න ටෙලි සිනමා ගම්මානය
5. Hummanaya Blow Hole – හුම්මානය

Mahapelessa (Madunagala) Hot springs – මහපැලැස්ස (මදුනාගල) උනු දිය ලිං

Madunagala Hot Water Springs lie amoung vast paddyfields between Sooriyawewa and Ridiyagama, Today this hot water well is one of the most popular destinations for the pilgrims to the South. The spring was first recorded by Leonard Woolf, Assistant Government Agent of Hambanthota (1908-11) in his diaries recording the haphazard journey through wild animal infested jungles and boat rides to reach the hot spring where he had taken sample to be analysed.

The spring was rediscovered again in early 1960’s with the Uda Walawe development project when the areas coming under the Walawe Basin was turned in to vast agricultural area. Embilipitiya was made the primary town of the project where number of trunk roads from main towns in surrounding Embilipitiya was terminated. Sooriyawewa, about 15 km east of Embilipitiya became the central hub of the left bank region of the Uda Walawe reservoir.

In 1970’s number of elephant calf deaths by falling in to the well were reported during the dry seasons. With most water sources drying up during the dry season, baby elephants who tried to quest their thirst from the Hot Spring had fallen in to the well. With the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka making representations to the Mahaweli Authority two wells with walls were built surrounding the hot springs for males and females in the 1980’s. These two wells were the only development at this spring until early 2000’s and to access it you had to travel over gravel roads and cross a paddy fields. Wild elephants was a frequent sight after dark.

In 2000’s this spring was identified to be developed in to a major tourist attraction. Today four wells have been built surrounding the main spring with varying degrees of temperature. The area is now landscaped and separate changing rooms and toilets for two sexes also has been built. A play area, a mini zoo and a aquarium has also been built for the children. To enter the area, Rs 60 is charged from a local adult and Rs 300 from a foreigner.

Unfortunately the site has been over publicized and you will find 10-15 bus loads of pilgrims during long holidays taking away the mystique of the location found before the turn of the century.

See more Hot Springs of Sri Lanka
Text Source – AmazingLanka

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Entrance to the hot springs

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Bandagiriya Rajamaha Viharaya – බඳගිරිය පුරාණ විහාරය

Bandagiriya forms the highest point in Hambantota District. Located at its summit is the ancient Bandagiriya Vihara (temple). In Dathuwamsa, one of the ancient chronicles of Sri Lankan history, it is mentioned that this temple was built by King Kawantissa in the 2nd century BC.

The name is also mentioned in ancient graffiti discovered at the the city of Sigiriya (6th to 8th century AD). At Bandagiriya two Stupas and a statue of the seated Buddha in meditation stand amidst scattered ruins. Bandagiriya provides quiet and peaceful surroundings and forms a wonderful vista to enjoy the sunset.

Text Source – AmazingLanka

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Majestic entrance

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Yatala Vehera – Debarawewa – යටාල වෙහෙර

Yatala Vehera is believed to be built by regional king Mahanaga in the 3rd century BC on the grounds which his queen delivered a son. This stupa has been identified as Mani Chethiya and Yattalaya in various historical documents.

Mahanaga is a brother of King Devanampiyathissa (250-210 BC ). History states that that when Mahanaga was inspecting the construction of Walas Reservoir (වලස් වැව), the queen of Devanampiyathissa send him a bowl of Mangos with the top most one poisoned. Her intention was to kill Mahanaga to ensure the throne to her son after Devanampiyathissa. At that time the son was with his uncle at the tank and child ate the poisoned mango and died on the spot. Fearing reprisal he took his pregnant wife and escaped to Ruhuna where he built up his own regional kingdom surrounding Magama area.

Some believe that this was much larger stupa due the size of the the huge granite pinnacle (ගල් ඡත්‍රය) found on the grounds.

It is not known what was enshrined in this stupa but a large number of relic caskets has been discovered in the stupa.

This stupa was completely restored and a small opening has been left to observe the different phases of construction. The restoration work of the Yatala Stupa commenced in 1883 AD. It took over a century to complete the restoration. This stupa is surrounded by probably the oldest Elephant Wall in the country.

Ruins of large number of various image houses has been conserved. One image house contains 2 larger than life size Buddha statues carved from Rock. The head of one statue has been broken and can be seen at the feet. Another image house has been reserved for a large Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva image carved from stone. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is a concept from Mahayana Buddhism which had became Natha Deviyo in Sri Lanka.

On the ground of the stupa a statue of Avalokeshwara Bodhisattva, a concept originated in Mahayana Buddhism blended with the Sri Lankan culture and Theravada doctrine.

Yatala Vehera is located between Debaraweva and Akurugoda on the Hambanthota – Kataragama Road and about a 1 1/2 km a way from Tissamaharama Stupa.

Text Source – AmazingLanka

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Yatala Vehera

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RANMINITHENNA TELE-CINEMA VILLAGE

One of the best ways to understand the local pop culture is by looking at the film industry of a particular country, and the part of Sri Lanka’s popular culture can be seen in the Ranminithenna Tele-Cinema Village. The village has been a production site for many local TV series and movies. What makes this village a unique production sight is due to the many structures within it. Most of the structures are built to resemble colonial Bombay, as it was used to film the Bollywood hit, Bombay Velvet. Some of the structures and props were used in filming ‘Yasodhara’, which gained critical acclaim locally and internationally.

Apart from the structures that resemble colonial Bombay, the village also comprises some other interesting sets that resemble some iconic attractions elsewhere in the island. Such buildings are the Cargills Millers building, the Queen’s Hotel in Kandy, and even the Nippon Hotel in Colombo. Although still in its development phase, the tele-cinema village is quickly becoming a place for many local filmmakers to make a name for themselves, as the production set has all the facilities. Any visitor who comes to this village is guaranteed to gain valuable knowledge on how the local film industry operates, how it has developed over the years, and how it might be in the very near future.

This is my second visit to Ranminithenna as my first visit was in there in 2010, and I have found the photos of that old journey and will publish another trip report.

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Hummanaya – හුම්මානය

Hummanaya Blowhole is the only known blowhole in Sri Lanka and it is considered to be the second largest blowhole in the world. Hummanaya (Sinhala: හුම්මානය = හූ+මානය) refers to the noise, “hoo”, that can be heard a distance away when the blowhole is active.

The Hummanaya Blowhole is located 1.1 kilometres (0.7 mi) from the small fishing village of Kudawella, which is 28 km (17 mi) from Matara, 5 km (3.1 mi) from Dikwella and 12 km (7.5 mi) from Tangalle, in the Southern Province.

Hummanaya is a natural blowhole, and caused when sea water rushes through a submerged cavern and is pushed upwards. The sea water flows underneath the shore, and then comes out of this hole due to pressure. The water fountain created by the geological feature shoots up every couple of minutes, depending on the nature of the sea, with the spray often reaching as high as 25 m (82 ft) to 30 m (98 ft).

This site has now been developed as a tourist attraction, with a small visitors’ information centre on marine life and a viewing platform.

Text source – Wikipedia

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Thank you for reading!

Sobasiri Team ©