Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara

Ancient stupa from the 3rd century BC, one of the largest in southern Sri Lanka

The Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara is the oldest and most important temple in the area, a gleaming white stupa 156 feet high visible from across the flat surrounding plains. The site dates from the 3rd century BC, when Tissamaharama was the capital of the ancient Ruhuna kingdom, and the stupa is one of the five most sacred in Sri Lanka.

The complex includes the main dagoba, subsidiary shrines, a Bo tree, and a moonstone entrance slab with beautifully carved animals. Elephants from the nearby park sometimes wander into the temple grounds. The stupa is illuminated at night and is particularly atmospheric around poya (full moon) days when worshippers come with flowers and oil lamps.

things to do sight
A story
The stupa is said to enshrine a relic brought by Arhant Mahinda Thera, the Buddhist monk who introduced Buddhism to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC. The site was first built by King Kavantissa around 200 BC — the same king who commissioned the Tissa Wewa reservoir — and it has been rebuilt and restored many times since. The town's name derives from the temple: Tissamaharama means "great monastery of Tissa."