Kataragama
Sign in to saveKataragama ( , ) is a pilgrimage town sacred to Buddhist, Hindu and indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka. People from South India also go there to worship. The town has the Kataragama temple, a shrine dedicated to Skanda Kumara also known as Kataragama deviyo. Kataragama is located in the Monaragala District of Uva province, Sri Lanka. It is southeast of Colombo. Although Kataragama was a small village in medieval times, today it is a fast-developing township surrounded by jungle in the southeastern region of Sri Lanka.
Weather now
cached 174h ago29°overcast clouds
67% 7.3 m/s OpenWeatherMap
7-day forecast
via Open-Meteo
Key facts
- Settlement.official_name
- Kataragama
- Settlement.native_name
- කතරගමகதிர்காமம்
- Settlement.pushpin_map
- Sri Lanka
- Settlement.subdivision_type
- Country
- Settlement.subdivision_name
- Sri Lanka
- Settlement.subdivision_type2
- Province
- Settlement.subdivision_name2
- Uva Province
- Settlement.subdivision_type3
- District
- Settlement.subdivision_name3
- Monaragala
- Settlement.timezone
- Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone
- Settlement.utc_offset
- +5:30
- Settlement.timezone_DST
- Summer time
- Settlement.utc_offset_DST
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human settlement
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Located in
- Uva Province
- Time zone
- UTC+05:30
- Image
- Kataragama temple entrance.jpg
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
15 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Early history
- Historic period
- Kataragama temple
- Temple of Syncretism
- Hindu Katirkamam
- Buddhist Kataragama
- Pre-Hindu and Buddhist origins
- Education
- Population
- Transport
- See also
- References
- External links
Kataragama ( , ) is a pilgrimage town sacred to Buddhist, Hindu and indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka. People from South India also go there to worship. The town has the Kataragama temple, a shrine dedicated to Skanda Kumara also known as Kataragama deviyo. Kataragama is located in the Monaragala District of Uva province, Sri Lanka. It is southeast of Colombo. Although Kataragama was a small village in medieval times, today it is a fast-developing township surrounded by jungle in the southeastern region of Sri Lanka.
The ancient Kiri Vehera Buddhist stupa, which is believed to be built by the regional king Mahasena in the 6th century BC is also a major attraction in Kataragama area. The town has a venerable history dating back to the last centuries BCE. It was the seat of government of many Sinhalese kings during the days of Rohana kingdom. Since the 1950s the town has undergone many improvements with successive governments investing in public transportation, medical facilities, and business development and hotel services. It adjoins the popular Yala National Park.