Devinuwara Esala Perahera
Around the Esala full moon, the Vishnu shrine at Devinuwara on the south coast holds a week of peraheras with elephants, drummers and low country dancers.
Devinuwara, "the city of the gods", sits on the southern tip of Sri Lanka, just east of Matara. Its main shrine, Devinuwara Devalaya, is dedicated to Upulvan, the god identified with Vishnu, who is believed to protect the island. Once a year, in the Sinhala month of Esala, the devalaya holds the biggest perahera in the deep south.
The festival runs for about a week, usually in July or early August, and builds night by night. Decorated elephants, whip crackers, flag bearers, drummers and dancers move through the streets of the town. The dancers here are mostly from the low country (Ruhuna) tradition, which looks and sounds different from the Kandyan style you see at the Esala Perahera in Kandy, so it is worth seeing even if you have already been to Kandy.
Devinuwara is an old pilgrimage town. Before the Portuguese destroyed it in 1587, the Vishnu temple here was one of the most famous shrines in the region, and you can still see ancient stone pillars and a stone doorway near the modern shrine. While you are there, walk out to Dondra Head Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in Sri Lanka, at the island's southernmost point.
Matara and the beaches around Mirissa are close by, so it is easy to fit an evening at the perahera into a south coast trip. The streets fill up early on the last nights, so arrive before dark to get a good spot.
Long before the Portuguese arrived, Devinuwara's temple was famous well beyond the island. The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta visited in the 14th century and described a great temple with a golden image of the god at its heart. Today's shrine is far more modest, but the sense of an old sacred town remains.
The town is only a few kilometres east of Matara on the coastal road, so it's easy to reach by bus or tuk tuk, and many visitors stay in Matara or Mirissa and come for the evening. Dress modestly if you visit the devalaya, and bring water and some patience, as the coastal road slows to a crawl once the procession starts.
At a glance
- When: Usually in June
- Duration: About a week, ending around Esala Poya
- Venue: Devinuwara Devalaya (Upulvan / Vishnu shrine), Devinuwara
- Organizer: Devinuwara Sri Vishnu Maha Devalaya
- Entry: Free