Kuragala Ancient Buddhist Monastry (කූරගල පුරාණ විහාරය)

Kuragala is a vast Buddhist monastery complex 18 km’s off Balangoda on the Kaltota road. This complex covers number of rock outcrops which is collectively known as Kuragala. The ruins of the complex dates back to the 2nd centaury BC and has been declared a archeological reserve by the the government. The Monastery covers 30-40 rock caves, some capable of holding 2000-3000 people.
Unfortunately this archeology reserve was taken over by Muslim fundamentalists in the late 20th centaury and was the process of systematically destroying all the evidence of the 2000 year old Buddhist heritage from Kuragala.

The ancient Brahmin inscriptions on the rocks are being destroyed by applying concentrated acid and two caves have already being converted mosques. The Brahmin inscriptions on these caves which is considered some of the oldest in Sri Lanka has been covered by cement and concrete. Houses has been built right next to sign boards declaring the site as a protected archeological reserve with no regards to law of the country. These Muslims claim that a mullah called Dafter Abdul Jailany have stayed in the place some thousands years ago. The Buddhist priest who was in charge of the Buddhist temple has fled the area due violence and threats from the Muslim encroaches.
Since this area is replete with religious artifacts, all constructions are done with the approval of the Department of Archeology and it has been decided to carry out construction work on the existing rock plateau in this Kuragala area and preserve the sites where such historical evidence is presumed to have been found. Therefore, it has been decided to carry out all constructions on the flat black rock plateau in this area under the supervision of the Archaeological Department.
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