Ketawala Ambalama

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The Ketawala Ambalama is an old wayside rest situated in Ketwala town in Badulla District, Sri Lanka. 

Ambalama

Ambalamas are traditional resting places built by locals to accommodate wayfarers who were travelling to distant places. The Ambalama at Ketawala is one such place that is believed to be more than a hundred years old (Priyadarshani & Gunasena, 2017). People who came on pilgrimage to nearby Muthiyangana Viharaya is said to have stayed at this place (Dasanayaka, 2018).

The square-shaped Ketawala Ambalama is relatively small and consists of a single open space surrounded by a short wall. The height of the building 6.5 ft. (Dasanayaka, 2018). The four-sided roof which is held by four pillars at the corners has been tiled with semi-cylindrical clay tiles (Sinhala Ulu). Presently, this building is used as a bus stop (Dasanayaka, 2018).

A protected monument

The Ketwala Ambalama located in Uva Ketawala village in Divisional Secretary’s Division of Hali-Ela, is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government notification published on 8 July 2005.

References

1) Dasanayaka, R., 2018. Ambalama saha samajaya (In Sinhala). S. Godage & Brothers.  pp.117-118.

2) Priyadarshani, S.A.N.; Gunasena, I.P.P., 2017. Pauranika Sthana Ha Smaraka: Badulla Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology. ISBN: 955-9159-48-8. p.34.

3) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1553. 8 July 2005.

Location Map

This page was last updated on 2 May 2021
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map