In a forest clearing near the village of Buttala, the ancient, ruined dagoba (stupa) of Yudaganawa is an enigmatic and powerful site. Only the bottom third remains, but the setting is evocative and your imagination can run riot with thoughts of how amazing it must have looked back in its day. It’s thought to have been an earthen stupa built 2300 years ago, though various alterations over the years – including an ongoing renovation that began in the 1970s – have obscured its history.
The small building in front houses 300-year-old carved-wood Buddhas and some exquisite faded paintings; it probably dates to the 7th century.
Just before reaching the main site you’ll pass the charming, moss-encrusted ruins of the much smaller 12th-century Chulangani Vihara, with a lovely, compact dagoba and fragments of a 7th-century Buddha.
Buses from Monaragala to Buttala (Rs 30, 25 minutes) run every 30 minutes, and a three-wheeler from Buttala costs Rs 300 return. A three-wheeler from Monaragala costs Rs 1200 return, or around Rs 2800 for both the Yudaganawa sites and Maligawila.
