Kadurugoda Viharaya Archaeological Site - Kantharodai
A cluster of dozens of small ancient coral-stone stupas packed together in a quiet garden, the remains of an early Buddhist monastery that thrived on the peninsula.
Near the town of Chunnakam, in the village of Kantarodai, one of the very few surviving ancient Buddhist sites in the entire Jaffna Peninsula holds a genuinely striking concentration of small stone stupas, more densely clustered together than almost anywhere else in Sri Lanka. Known as Kadurugoda Viharaya in Sinhala or Kantharodai in Tamil, the site's history traces back to the Anuradhapura era, and tradition holds that the road carrying Theri Sanghamitta's sacred Bo sapling from Dambakola Patuna toward Anuradhapura passed directly through this area, giving the site a plausible connection to Buddhism's earliest days on the island.
The site remained largely forgotten until 1917, when Magistrate P.E. Pieris rediscovered it and reported, with some alarm, that local residents were actively carting away ancient bricks from the ruins to build their own homes. Subsequent excavations between 1917 and 1919 uncovered the remains of a shrine room, fragments of Buddha and Bodhisattva statues, sacred footprint stones, and coins dating to the pre-Christian era, alongside the bases of dozens of small stupas, originally numbering around 56 to 60, built from distinctive gray coral stone with small cavities across their surface and topped with an unusual pinnacle design rather than the standard Sri Lankan stupa crown.
Many of these stupas were destroyed in the 16th century under King Sangiliyan, and only about 20 survive intact today, ranging from roughly 6 to 23 feet in diameter, standing in quiet rows across the modest archaeological grounds. For anyone tracing Buddhism's earliest footprint in the north, Kadurugoda offers a genuinely rare, tangible link to a period of Jaffna's history that's otherwise been almost entirely erased by centuries of subsequent conflict and religious change.
At a glance
- Entry fee: Small entry fee
- Opening hours: Daylight hours
- Time needed: 30 to 45 minutes
- Best time: Daytime
Getting there
At Kantarodai near Chunnakam, about 10km north of Jaffna.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to visit Kadurugoda Viharaya Archaeological Site - Kantharodai?
- Small entry fee.
- What are the opening hours at Kadurugoda Viharaya Archaeological Site - Kantharodai?
- Daylight hours.
- How long should I spend at Kadurugoda Viharaya Archaeological Site - Kantharodai?
- Plan for 30 to 45 minutes.
- When is the best time to visit Kadurugoda Viharaya Archaeological Site - Kantharodai?
- Daytime.
- How do I get to Kadurugoda Viharaya Archaeological Site - Kantharodai?
- At Kantarodai near Chunnakam, about 10km north of Jaffna.