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Yudaganawa (admission rs 100; h6am-6pm)
is an enigmatic and powerful site. Only the
bottom third remains, but the setting is
evocative and your imagination can run riot
with thoughts of how amazing it must have
looked back in its day. It’s thought to have
been an earthen stupa built 2300 years ago,
though various alterations over the years –
including an ongoing renovation that began
in the 1970s – have obscured its history.
The small building in front houses
300-year-old carved-wood Buddhas and
some exquisite faded paintings; it probably
dates to the 7th century.
Just before reaching the main site you’ll
pass the charming, moss-encrusted ruins of
the much smaller 12th-century Chulangani
Vihara, with a lovely, compact dagoba and
fragments of a 7th-century Buddha.
Buses from Monaragala to Buttala
(Rs 30, 25 minutes) run every 30 minutes,
and a three-wheeler from Buttala costs Rs
300 return. A three-wheeler from Monaraga-
la costs Rs 1200 return, or around Rs 2800 for
both the Yudaganawa sites and Maligawila.
Maligawila & Dematal Vihara
Tucked away in a shady forest glade in
Maligawila (mali-ga-wila) are the extensive
7th-century remnants of Pathma Vihara
(hdawn-dusk) F and its two stunning
Buddha statues. A little walk through the
woods (bearing left) brings you to a magnifi-
cent 15m-tall Buddha statue, carved from a
single piece of stone and weighing 100 tons.
The figure was only discovered in the 1950s
and restored (and reheaded) a few decades
later. At its feet are usually offerings of flower
petals left by pilgrims.
A few minutes’ walk in the opposite direc-
tion is the 10m-high Maitreya Bodhisattva
(Avalokitesvara), sitting high atop five stone
terraces. It was found in pieces in the 1950s,
then blown up by treasure-seeking looters,
but reconstituted in 1991. It’s a beautiful
statue despite the scaffolding harness and
corrugated canopy.
Frequent buses run to Maligawila from
both Monaragala (Rs 50, 40 minutes) and
Buttala (Rs 30). The journey to Maligawila
from Monaragala, past jungles and paddy
fields, is as much a highlight as the ruins
themselves. If you’re heading towards Butta-
la it’s possible to hop off the bus at Dematal
Vihara, a gorgeous temple lost in a sea of
picturesque paddy fields.
A three-wheeler from Monaragala costs
Rs 1800 return, or Rs 2800 return to do the
Maligawila–Yudaganawa loop.
Arugam Bay
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Lovely Arugam Bay, a moon-shaped curl of
soft sand, is home to a famed point break
that many regard as the best surf spot in the
country. It’s a tiny place, with a population
of a few hundred, and everything is dotted
along a single road, which parallels the coast.
If you’re not a surfer, there are plenty
of other draws: beachfront guesthous-
es, oceanside restaurants and a mellow,
swing-another-day-in-a-hammock kind of
vibe that’s totally removed from the brash
west-coast beach resorts. Arugam Bay also
makes a great base for several adventures in
the surrounding hinterland. During the low
season (November to April) things get very
quiet and some places shut up shop alto-
gether, but it can also be a beautiful time to
visit, with few tourists and glistening green
landscapes.SLEEPING IN THE TREES
Tree Tops (%077 703 6554; http://www.tree
topsjunglelodge.com; per person all-
inclusive Us$145) is the antidote to
concrete resort hotels and national
parks overrun with hundreds of jeeps,
Tree Tops offers a true back-to-nature
experience. Beautifully isolated at the
base of the Weliara Ridge, 10km from
Buttala, this wilderness lodge offers the
chance to marvel at the dawn chorus,
listen for wild elephants and be dazzled
by the stars of the night sky.
Accommodation is in three spacious,
canvas ‘chalets’ (tented huts on a
raised, sand-filled platform with bath-
rooms). Unfortunately all this comes at
a considerable cost, but food (mostly
vegetarian), drinks and guided hikes
with expert local trackers around the
area, including to Arhat Kanda, the sce-
nic ‘Hills of Enlightenment’, are included.
Reservations are essential.
The owners also plan to open a sec-
ond wilderness lodge in the Habessa
area, 6km south of Tree Tops close to
Yala National Park (block 4).