The venerable Nalanda Gedige is built in the style of a South Indian Hindu temple and enjoys a wonderfully peaceful location next to a tank (artificial lake) with prolific local birdlife.
The temple consists of an entrance hall connected to a taller shikara (holy image sanctuary), with a courtyard for circumambulations. There is no sign of Hindu gods, however, and the temple is said to have been used by Buddhists. It's one of the earliest stone buildings in Sri Lanka.
The temple’s richly decorated stone-block walls, reassembled from ruins in 1975, are thought to have been fashioned during the 8th to 11th centuries. The plinth bears some Tantric carvings with sexual poses – the only such sculptures in Sri Lanka – but before you get excited, the carvings are weather-beaten and it’s difficult to see much in the way of action.
