Dhowa Temple and Places named after Ravana in Ella
After getting lost at Nine Arches Bridges I had still more time to explore the beautiful city of Ella. To see all the places I visited you can check out my vlog of the other half of the day in the below video.
After looking at the list of places to visit in Ella, I saw this huge statue of Buddha carved on a rock. Which was unfinished, but made me add it to my list to visit. After riding a bit from the Nine Arches Bridge, I arrived at this place where the reception was totally dead. And I wasn’t able to locate the directions, but I thought to move ahead and see if I can reach there. I reached a town with this huge billboard with the places to visit around Ella listed on and my reception was back. And this time I wasn’t lost as in no time I was there at the Dhowa Rock Temple.
Dhowa Rock Temple
It is a protected heritage site, and the temple dates back over 2000 years. The area was named Dhowa as it is located in a ring of mountains, with a river flowing across the plateau. Dhowa is a small and ancient village located on the Badulla – Bandarawela main road.
The temple is famous for it’s large unfinished Buddha image, which is the reason I too was there. With the rock Image, the temple is also amazing built by the chief priest. Who turned the cave into a temple, and the work was later finished during the Kandyan Period. There are many images and statues of different Gods and paintings all over the walls of the caves, like most of the temples in Sri Lanka. After reaching the other side of the temple I heard a waterfall but wasn’t able to see it as the doors were locked to go out from there.
After the Dhowa Rock Temple, it was when the ride got interesting. Just love to ride around the beautiful mountains on all sides of you just making your day amazing.
Ravana Falls
The Ravana Falls is the widest waterfall in Sri Lanka and is one of popular attraction while you are in Ella. The legend behind the Falls is that according to the Hindu Epic Ramayana when King Ravana kidnapped Princess Sita, he hid her in the cave behind the waterfall. Now just known as the Ravana Ella Cave, which was covered with thick forest during that time.
The Fall is just beside the road, with a bridge where people stand to admire the beauty of the falls. There is an area made for people willing to take a bath in the water coming from the falls. Except that there are small shops to grab some corn or other stuff to eat. Also, you will see many monkeys who will try to snatch the corn from your hand while on the bridge.
After the falls, it was getting dark, so I had just time for one more spot. The Ravana Caves, which wasn’t that far from the falls, so I grabbed my scooter and headed over there.
Ravana Caves & Temple
After reaching the place I started my trek to the top which wasn’t that tough. As you need to just walk 600 steps to reach the top, and in the middle, you can stop by to drink some coconut water. And enjoy the beauty from the middle of the trek, it was getting dark, but I wanted to see the cave so I hurried to the top. With more trees, the path was getting darker with every step, and then I started to hear the prayers from the Ravana Temple which happens at 6 AM and 6 PM every day.
I made it to the caves, just before the sun would have gone down. But after the last steps it was all dark I was at the entrance of the cave but wasn’t able to see anything inside. But the view on the other side looked amazing with the huge rocks and dense forest. I saw some numbers inside the cave but wasn’t able to get much out of it. After the caves, I went to the coconut shop to enjoy some coconut water with the view.
Later, I went to the Ravana Temple, which was still under construction. You are not allowed to enter the prayer hall but you will be directed towards the temple which had some visitors. With a huge tree and another rock cave temple. After which I headed back to the town and in the middle encountered this beautiful sunset as you can see in the picture below.
And that’s all for Ella, after this the mountains of Sri Lanka ends and the beautiful beaches start. To get regular updates, follow me on Instagram at instagram.com/misteravinash.