Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara
One of Sri Lanka's most sacred temples, believed to mark the site of the Buddha's first visit to the island over 2,500 years ago. Its great white stupa is said to enshrine a lock of the Buddha's hair.
On the east bank of the Mahaweli River near Mahiyanganaya town, a temple holds a claim genuinely unmatched by any other site in Sri Lanka, it's believed to mark the exact spot of the Buddha's very first visit to the island, arriving nine months after his enlightenment, an event the Mahavamsa chronicle places on a Duruthu full moon Poya day in January. At the time, tradition holds, Sri Lanka was inhabited by Yakkhas, a powerful and troublesome spirit clan, and the Buddha's mission here was to subdue and pacify them, delivering his first Dhamma discourse anywhere on the island before the Yakkhas were sent to a separate island so the land could be purified ahead of Buddhism's later formal establishment.
During this visit, one Yaksha chieftain named Saman achieved stream entry after hearing the Buddha's teaching, and in gratitude requested a relic to venerate in the Buddha's absence, receiving in response several clippings of hair that became the foundation of what's considered the first stupa ever built in Sri Lanka. Following the Buddha's mahaparinibbana, or final passing, in India, the Arahant Sarabhu is said to have miraculously retrieved the Buddha's collarbone even from the funeral pyre and brought it to this same site, enshrining it within the growing stupa. Successive kings enlarged the structure across the centuries, King Devanampiyatissa raising it to 30 cubits while enshrining a neck bone relic, and King Dutugemunu later expanding it further still to 120 feet.
Counted among the Solosmasthana, the sixteen most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Sri Lanka, the temple complex today includes the ancient Mahiyangana Stupa alongside the Saman Devalaya, both formally recognized as protected archaeological monuments, and continues drawing pilgrims from across the country, particularly during its annual perahera festival, a living continuation of devotion tracing back, by tradition, to the very first Buddhist footprint ever left on Sri Lankan soil.
At a glance
- Entry fee: Free
- Opening hours: Open all day
- Time needed: 45 minutes to 1 hour
- Best time: Early morning, or during the September Esala festival
Getting there
In Mahiyangana town, about 60km north of Badulla down the winding 18-bend road, or reached from Kandy via the A26.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to visit Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara?
- Free.
- What are the opening hours at Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara?
- Open all day.
- How long should I spend at Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara?
- Plan for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- When is the best time to visit Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara?
- Early morning, or during the September Esala festival.
- How do I get to Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara?
- In Mahiyangana town, about 60km north of Badulla down the winding 18-bend road, or reached from Kandy via the A26.