Madanwala Ambalama

Photo credit: Google street view

The Madanwala Ambalama is an old wayside rest situated in the Madanwala village near Hanguranketha in Nuwara Eliya District, Sri Lanka. 

History

Ambalamas are traditional resting places built by locals to accommodate wayfarers who were travelling to distant places. They were also used as a place for people to gather, hold meetings and serve as a public place in society. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Ambalamas were spread all over the country. The Ambalama at Madanwala has been built in 1901 by a person named Sangaruwanketha Abayasinghe Appuhami Lekam (Dasanayaka, 2018; Wijesinghe, 2015).

The structure

Presently, the Ambalama lies on the wayside of the Hanguranketha-Rikillagaskada road. The structure is square in shape and its four-sided roof is held by 4 stone pillars at the corners of the building (Dasanayaka, 2018).

References

1) Dasanayaka, R., 2018. Ambalama saha samajaya (In Sinhala). S. Godage & Brothers.  pp.90-91.

2) Wijesinghe, T.K., 2015. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Nuwara Eliya Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-36-4. pp.31-32.

Location Map

This page was last updated on 2 January 2022
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map