The finely carved Aukana Buddha and serene reclining Buddha at Reswehara Temple, along with its own standing Buddha and frescoed caves. Very peaceful and rewarding visits.
Leaving Uga Ulagalla we headed to this magnificent Buddha. It stands over 11m tall and is traditionally thought to be over 1500 years old.
The carving, especially of the pleated robe, is very crisp.
The main road to the monastery was under construction so Ruwan, our guide/driver took back roads through the countryside which was absolutely lovely. We passed through huge coconut palm plantations with mango trees below and banana palms and a vast expanse of water on one side of a causeway with coconut plantations on the other.
The country road turned into a mud road which had become badly churned up before drying, very difficult to drive on. So we left the car not too far from the monastery and walked.
It was a lovely walk through very peaceful countryside, with a canal and lake. We spotted a Common Kingfisher here, poised to pluck a meal from the water.
Ruwan took care of the formalities of getting us in and we began walking to see the Sasseruwa Buddha. Two young monks came after us and accompanied us, showing us some hidden treasures along the way.
The boys were 13 and 14, the younger had been at the monastery for five years, the elder for so long he couldn't remember. They spend their days begging for food in the villages, though there is also a monastery school. Another young boy also joined us, not in the distinctive orange robes, though he was planning to become a monk.
Climbing a series of stone staircases we arrived at the 12m tall Buddha carved into the rock. It is unfinished and not as fine as the Aukana Buddha but is of a similar size and in the same pose - "Sasseruwa" probably derives from a Sinhala phrase meaning "similar image". One of the legends associated with the two Buddha statues is that they were carved by a master sculptor and his pupil in competition to see who could finish first. When the pupil heard his master ring a bell, signalling that he was finished, he stopped work on his Buddha at Reswehara.
The face of the Buddha is beautifully carved. Ruwan told us that sculptors begin carving from the top of the Buddha and work down, out of respect.
After a while the two young monks led us past the Sacred Bo Tree, said to be one of the 32 original saplings of Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anaradhapura, to a cave temple.
Inside it was quite small but richly decorated with many standing and seated statues.
Afterwards the monks took us to a much larger cave temple with a very beautiful, serene reclining Buddha, 11.5m long. The cave dates from the first century BC.
This was a really lovely visit, very peaceful, and with such treasures. Being guided by the two young monks made it even more special.