Weherahena temple

This temple is visited by many Buddhists from all over. It is a very tranquil and a perfect place for worship. This temple was first constructed as an underground temple. It was kept hidden because the people at that time (the Buddhists) wanted to preserve this temple and avoid outside interference. There is a massive Buddha statue of 39 metres in height outside the temple, seated in a Samadhi position. However, there is no historical importance to this temple. This temple is said to be the first and largest tunnel temple in the whole world. It is believed that this temple was built through an idea of Reverend Parawahera Rewatha Thero (who was sent to Wehera an area as a punishment). He wanted to build the largest Buddha statue in the world and a tunnel temple. So with the assistance of Anagarika Dharmapala, construction activities commenced. There are murals in this temple depicting Jataka stories. Many people visit this temple to get blessings from the Buddha.