A small stupa midway between the Quadrangle and the Royal Palace, Menik Vehera (the "Gem Stupa") is unusual for its octagonal terrace and surrounding ring of brick-built monastic cells. The stupa itself, perhaps no more than 8 metres high in its restored form, is a useful study in proportion compared with the great hemispheres of Rankoth Vehera and Kiri Vehera nearby.
The compound is rarely crowded and makes a pleasant stop on a slow cycle through the site. The surrounding monks' cells, once roofed in tile, show how monastic life was organised around the stupa.