YAPAHUWA

Midway between Kurunagala & Anuradhapura lies the magnificent citadel of Yapahuwa built around a huge granite rock rising abruptly almost a hundred meters above the surrounding lowlands. Yapahuwa was one of the ephemeral capitals of medieval Sri Lanka

HISTORY

Many interesting ruins are scattered in every direction. But the most important local ruin of all is the splendid though Short-lived rock fortress of Yapahuwa which some consider excels Sigiriya. The surviving stone work certainly does florid but exquisite.

The climb to the top of the rock is easy and the view excellent.Yapahuwa was the seat of govt. in the 13th century. The rock here rises abruptly to a height of about 200 meters. On the south and east sides of the rock, the land has been build up into terraces and retained by walls, to gain to summit. Subha or Subhapabbota occupied the rock for purposes of military strategy. From here he was able to check Magha's (1215-1236A.D) forces from proceeding southwards. Magha of Kalinga led an invasion of the Island with nearly 24,000 solders. Later (1272-1284 A.D) Bhuvanekabahu made Yapahuwa his capital and transferred the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha from Dambadeniya to Yapahuwa. Two sets of moat and rampart gird the rock. Between the outer and inner ramparts was the outer city.

TEMPLE AND MUSEUM

There's a small museum just to the right of the site, set in one of a pair of gorgeous Kandyan-style wooden beams separated by a quaint bell tower. Exhibits include some fine stone windows from the top of the stairway, intricately latticed in quasi-Arabian style. One of the window frames is now exhibited in the Colombo Museum.




Behind the museum is a fascinating cave temple (restored in 1886) that contains some 13th century frescoes. The reposition of images across a geometric grid also appears in ancient Buddhist sites in India, such as Ajanta, inland from Mumbai, & Alchi in Ladakh. Also in the temple are wooden Buddha images &, interestingly, one image made of bronze