Description of the attraction
Frescoes, paintings, sculptures and architecture - Lankasilaka Viharaya is definitely worth seeing. Built by Parakramabahu the Great, who ascended the throne in 1153. and remained in power until 1186, Lankasilaka Viharaya absorbed the best features of the Sri Lankan architectural style, better known as Sinhala temple architecture. The temple also underwent some renovations during the reign of Dabadinia in the 13th century.
This temple has many features and advantages over other tourist attractions in Kandy. To begin with, this is an unusual architectural variation based on the style common to all Buddhist temples. You can see how abstraction through frescoes and sculptures turns into something clear and crisp. The giant statue, or rather its remains, is a prime example of this.
In front of the main entrance to the temple, there is a preaching hall covered with flat tiles, unlike the usual semicircular tiles, they are used to cover the central part of the roof and create beautiful patterns. Two large images of lions and two figures of guards facing each other adorn the two walls of a short corridor leading to the spirit house. Inside the spirit house, there is a magnificent relic - a twelve-foot Buddha image beneath the beautiful Makara Torana.
It is amazing that the entire temple was built from one mountain range. In fact, if you look closely, you can make out the cutouts in the rock used in the creation of the Buddha statue. A striking feature of Lankasilaka Viharaya is that the temple is connected to the house of spirits (a five-story building from the front).
What can be seen now - only the remnants of the former luxury of the original temple, nevertheless, they fascinate tourists.
