Embekke Devale

Embekke Devale, a fourteenth-century shrine dedicated to the god Skanda (Kataragama), is famous throughout Sri Lanka for its extraordinary carved wooden pillars. The drum hall and porch are supported by columns covered top to bottom with intricate relief carvings of wrestlers, dancers, birds, and mythological figures — the carving quality is exceptional and remarkably well preserved given the building's age.

Located about 14 km west of Kandy, Embekke is the logical third stop on the Gadaladeniya–Lankatilaka circuit. The shrine is small and can be seen thoroughly in under an hour, but the woodcarving deserves unhurried attention. Photography is permitted in the porch areas.

things to do sight architecture
A story
The carved wooden pillars of Embekke are often described as the finest medieval woodcarving in Sri Lanka. Each of the sixty-eight columns in the drum hall carries a different carved motif — wrestlers, dancers, swans, lions, double-headed eagles, and figures that appear to be a man and woman in erotic embrace. The craftsmen carved every surface as if it were the only one, with no filler ornament anywhere. The Kandyan kings apparently commissioned this excess of care for a structure that was, functionally, just a porch.