Mahiyangana
Mahiyangana
The town of Mahiyangana is famous in Buddhist legend as the first of the three places in Sri Lanka that the Buddha visited after he gained enlightenment; the other two been Kelaniya and Nainativu.
About 1 km south of the town center, the huge RajamahaDagoba marks the spot where the Buddha is believed to have preached during his first visit to the country. Said to enshrine a lock of the Buddha’s hair, the dagobawas expanded by King Dutugemunu in the 2nd century BC, and further renovated during the reign of King VoharikaTissa in the 3rd century AD. The attractive complex, backed by a long walkway.
Another temple of note here is the Sri Maha Bodhi Seya, which is located west of the center. It was commissioned by President Premadasa in the early 1990s to look like the Mahabodhi Stupa at Bodh Gaya in India.
The town also serves as a good base for visiting the MaduruOya National
