A gleaming white hollow stupa beside the Kalu Ganga bridge, one of very few Buddhist stupas in the world you can walk inside.

Overview

The Kalutara Chaitya rises beside the Kalu Ganga at the entrance to town, an unmissable landmark for anyone travelling the southern coast. It is one of only a handful of hollow stupas in the world: visitors can step inside the great white dome, whose interior is ringed by 74 painted murals depicting the life of the Buddha and scenes from the Jataka tales. The adjoining Gangatilaka Vihara temple complex and sacred Bodhi tree draw a steady stream of pilgrims, many of whom drop an offering as they cross the bridge.

History

The site was originally occupied by an earlier temple and later a colonial fort built successively by the Portuguese, Dutch and British to guard the river mouth. The present great chaitya was begun in the 1960s and completed in 1980, built as a hollow dome enclosing a smaller inner stupa. The sacred Bodhi tree here is traditionally believed to date back many centuries.