Embekke Devalaya

Embekke Devalaya was built during the reign of King Vikramabahu III of Gampola (c. 1357–1374), on a site where an earlier ambalama is said to have stood. It was later enlarged under the Kandyan king Rajadhi Rajasinghe, who added further woodcraft. The shrine has three parts: the Garbhaya, the sanctum housing the image of the god Kataragama; the Digge, a dancing hall; and the Hevisi Mandapaya, the Drummers' Hall. The devale is also linked to the local deity Devatha Bandara. Some of the timber in the Drummers' Hall is said to have come from an abandoned royal audience hall at Gampola.

The Drummers' Hall measures about 52 by 25 feet, raised on a granite base and carried on 32 wooden pillars with octagonal bases, built without a single metal nail. Its wood is a mix of indigenous species: gammalu, ginisapu, burutha, na, and halmilla. Across the complex the carvers worked through roughly 500 distinct designs, including entwined swans, double-headed eagles, wrestlers, dancers, and one carving that reads as an elephant from one angle and a bull from the other, depending on which half is covered.

The devale remains active, and in 2009 it was formally designated an Archaeological Protected Monument.