Kandy to Bahirawakanda

After a long pause for travelling, the decision to visit a near by Buddhist temple in Kandy was made. It is the Sri maha bodhi Buddhist temple. The temple is famous because of the giant Buddhist Statue that is built in the temple. The statue is famous as Bahirawakanda Statue. Sri Maha Bodhi Viharaya is a central place for many Buddhist activities. 

The temple was built in 1972 by ven.Ampitiye Dammarama Thero. He started building the statue in the same year with the aid of the Buddhist people. It took years to complete. Finally the statue was opened by president Premadasa 1st of January 1993. 

According to this, the statue was created by Dr, S.A Albert wijesekera.

The statue can be seen almost from everywhere in the Kandy city. It stands up in the sky, between the tree tops attracting many Sri Lankans as well as foreigners. If you visit Kandy city, never forget to visit this temple. It is about 1 km away from the Kandy city. You can take a three wheeler, or you can also walk up the hill to the temple.

We decided that the best way to get there would be on foot, because it will give us the chance to experience the environment as much as we could. It also saves money. Climbing up hill was a little hard, because the road was steep, but it was pleasing. You can never explain the joy you get when you are climbing a mountain even it is tiring. As we climbed up we saw the kandy city in different direction and different levels. I never thought that the Kandy city would look so pretty. The Sri Dalada Maligawa   (The Temple of the Sacred Tooth) and the lake in the middle of the city reflected the glory of the uphill kingdom. 

Kandy City from Bahirawakanda

When we looked up we saw that the is statue getting closer and closer. At some points, the statue disappeared making us wondering whether we took a wrong turn, but finally we arrived to the temple with no difficulty. The surrounding environment was peaceful and there was no trouble from people. We also met some tourist who were also walking to the temple. They also seemed to enjoy themselves. They were so pleased and generous enough to share a smile with us. 

Bahirawakanda Statue

The statue is 88 feet in height and it is in 'Samadhi' posture. There was a poster displaying information regarding this statue as well as other large statues in Sri Lanka. 

There are stairs to climb up the statue. You can see the Kandy city clearly as you go up. The 'Bo tree' in the temple looked really peaceful. 

In side the temple there were painting on the walls displaying events of Lord Buddha's life.

After worshiping the temple, we head back to Kandy on foot. The return journey was easy and fast. We went home with nice memories of the giant Buddhist Statue that rise in the middle of the Kandy city.