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TARAGAMA

Ul-Khizr Mosque MOSQUe
The Muslim area near the river features this
beautiful mosque with coloured tile work and
wooden lintels, and tombs of two holy men.

Kataragama Museum MUSeUM
(admission Rs 650; h8.30am-4.30pm Tue-Sun)
This archaeological museum inside the com-
plex has a collection of Hindu and Buddhist
religious items, as well as huge fibreglass rep-
licas of statues from around Sri Lanka. How-
ever, you’ll need a guide to provide context as
the labelling is woeful.

Mahinda Rajapaksa National
Tele-Cinema Park STUDiO
(www.serendibstudio.com; off Tissa–Kataragama Rd;
admission foreigner US$10) Named for its patron,
the gift-bearing Sri Lankan president, this
studio located halfway between Tissa and
Kataragama is only mentioned because some
drivers and tours will suggest you visit. Don’t.
There’s a small soundstage and a tiny backlot
meant to recreate colonial Bombay (which is
already crumbling in the tough local climate).
The foreigner admission fee is pure rip-off.

4 leeping & EatingS

Kataragama’s accommodations are limited.
You’ll find simple snack stands along Tissa
Rd and at the parking lots.

oSunhil’s Hotel GU eSThOUSe $

(%567 7172; Tissa Rd; r with/without air-con Rs

3000/2500; a) This cheery little guesthouse

is right on the main drag of the quiet strip

that passes for Kataragama’s centre. The

eight rooms are brightly painted and have

attached bathrooms.

Mandara Rosen hOTel $$$

(%223 6030; http://www.mandararesorts.com; Tissa Rd; r

from US$100; aWs) The smartest address in

town, Rosen is 3km west of the centre. The

rooms are good, but the hotel’s best asset is

the pool, which has an underwater music sys-

tem. Out the front, near the road, is a good,

shady cafe open to all.

8 Information

You’ll find ATMs in the centre along Tissa Rd.

8 Getting There & Away

There are frequent buses to Tissamaharama (Rs

37, 30 minutes). Should you arrive by car, you’ll

set off frenzied competition from the owners of

various snack, offering, toy and garish souvenir

stands who will try to get you to park on their

patch in the hope you’ll buy something.

THE LONG WALK TO KATARAGAMA

Forty-five days before the annual Kataragama festival starts on the Esala poya (full moon)

in July, a group of Kataragama devotees start walking the length of Sri Lanka for the Pada

Yatra pilgrimage. Seeking spiritual development, the pilgrims believe they are walking in the

steps of the god Kataragama (also known as Murugan) and the Veddahs, who made the first

group pilgrimage on this route.

The route follows the east coast from the Jaffna Peninsula, via Trincomalee and Batti-

caloa to Okanda, then through Yala National Park to Kataragama. It’s an arduous trip, and

the pilgrims rely on the hospitality of the communities and temples they pass for their

food and lodging. Although often interrupted during the war years, the walk is now hugely

popular.

Pilgrims arrive in Kataragama just before the festival’s feverish activity. Elephants parade,

drummers drum. Vows are made and favours sought by devotees, who demonstrate their

sincerity by performing extraordinary acts of penance and self-mortification on one particu-

lar night: some swing from hooks that pierce their skin; others roll half-naked over the hot

sands near the temple. A few perform the act of walking on beds of red-hot cinders – tread-

ing the flowers, as it’s called. The fire walkers fast, meditate and pray, bathe in Menik Ganga

(Menik River) and then worship at Maha Devale before facing their ordeal. Then, fortified by

their faith, they step out onto the glowing path while the audience cries out encouragement.

The festival officially ends with a water-cutting ceremony (said to bring rain for the har-

vest) in Menik Ganga.