Kataragama

Kataragama (කතරගම) in the dry southeast of Sri Lanka is one of the island's most important pilgrimage towns and a rare place where several faiths share the same sacred ground. Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and the indigenous Vedda all revere the site.

At its heart lies the Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya, a modest shrine dedicated to the god Kataragama, who is identified with Skanda or Murugan in Hindu tradition. Nearby stand a mosque and the shrine of Al Khizr, while the great white Kiri Vehera is one of the sixteen most sacred Buddhist sites of Sri Lanka. Pilgrims bathe in the Menik Ganga before visiting the shrines, and the evening puja, with drums, offerings of fruit and flowers and crowds of devotees, is deeply atmospheric. Show more

The town comes alive during the annual Esala festival, usually in July or August, with nightly processions and fire walking ceremonies. Many pilgrims arrive on foot along the ancient Pada Yatra route from the north, which crosses Kumana and Yala. Around the town, the Sella Kataragama shrines, the Wedahiti Kanda hilltop temple and the archaeological museum can be visited, and Yala National Park lies close by.

Kataragama is reached by road from Tissamaharama, Buttala or the hill country. A day or an evening is enough for the shrines. Modest clothing is expected, and the town is busiest during the festival and on full moon days.