Ambalangoda is a coastal town in south-western Sri Lanka. It is home to a number of Buddhist temples, of which the Sunandarama Maha Vihara is one of the most interesting—at least from a visitor’s perspective.
The decorations on the very unusual gateway into the temple complex suggest an origin in the Portuguese era.
However, the temple is not actually that old. It dates from the end of the 18th century, with some of its larger structures added even later. Work on the gateway arch, for example, was started in 1876, but took around 40 years to complete.
The photo at the very top of this piece was taken in the ‘statue house’, the oldest building in the complex. It contains a number of impressive sculptures and comparatively well-preserved frescoes.
Some of the frescoes clearly show stories from Buddha’s life; others appear to relate to more general themes of the Buddhist belief system.
A colour scheme relying heavily on black and white against a red background is something you come across quite frequently in the wall art of Sri Lankan temples from this era.
