By far, West coast beaches are the most popular strip of sandy beaches on the island where you can see hundreds of beach holiday lovers lying on the beach while gaping on the sun, some are lying under giant umbrellas, while some others are marching along the waterline. This sun-worshipping community that refuge in the beach resorts is also looking for an occasional sightseeing tour from their beach resort, in order to gather some knowledge on the country and experience the local life.

Visiting Kandevihara from the beach resort

If you are in a Sri Lanka beach resort on the west coast, this article might help you to find one of the best tourist attractions near you. You can conveniently visit the temple from any of the west coast beach resort and it would take only a few minutes to reach one of the historical temples. If you are staying in the southern coast of Sri Lanka still it would not take more than 1 hour to reach the temple.

Vsisitng Kande viharae on Galle trip

Venturing on a Galle trip or Bentota trip from Colombo also allows you to visit Kande Vihara temple, due to its location near the main road.

Where is Kande vihara temple?

Kande Vihara Buddhist temple is located near Bentota beach and one of the most visited Buddhist temples on the west coast of Sri Lanka. Undoubtedly Kande vihara is one of the most sacred temples in the southern province of Sri Lanka.

Temple is visited by a large number of Buddhist pilgrims from all parts of the country. Being situated very close to the popular holiday resorts of Bentota, Beruwala, Alutgama and Kalutara, it is visited by a large number of tourists too.

The well-maintained temple has been able to convince the foreigner about the commitment of Buddhist to their religion. The temple is being able to create a good Impression among the foreigners about Buddhism.

This beautiful temple is located some half a kilometres from the Kaluwamodara Junction on the Colombo–Galle main road. The temple is picturesquely located on a mountain and surrounded by lush green vegetation.

The history of the temple goes back to the reign of King Rajadhi Rajasinghe. The temple was started with a small dagoba during the Kandyan period and later developed to the present size. The temple had been started as a branch of the renowned Bentota Galapata Vihara, which was resided by Velivita Saranankara Thera.

The relic house of Kande Vihara is built to deposit the sacred relics same times it houses very valuable religious paintings that dating back to many centuries. The relic deposited here enhances the importance of this holy place. Another important part of the temple is the sacred Bo-tree (Ficus religiosa). It is planted in a house or Bodhigara, which is built in the octagonal shape; it believed to be an architectural invention of ancient Sri Lankan architect.

Recently added gigantic meditation Buddha statue is measured 107 meters, it is located near the entrance of the temple and adds grandeur to the temple. A beautiful image house is built below the statue. The entrance of the Image house is adorned by a rare type of Makara Thorana. Main doors of the image house are constructed with cement while figures of animals such as lions and floral decoration are carved on the doors. The image house shows a close relationship between the typical Dutch architecture.

The temple is conducting many religious programs for the visitors; daily Gilanpasa Pooja, Deva Pooja, annual Kiripidu Pooja and Muruten Pooja are some of the important events. Vishnu Devala of Kande Vihara considered being one of the most important places in the temple. It houses a beautifully decorated statue of God Vishnu.