Old Narampanawa Ambalama

Old Narampanawa Ambalama stands under a temple tree beside a paddy field, on the road from Oruthota just before the bridge over the Hulu Ganga, about 20 kilometres from Kandy near Teldeniya. It is a village resting shelter of the ambalama type: a square brick-and-mortar structure with a low wall connecting four pillars that doubles as a seat, carrying a wooden roof frame. The only carving on the structure sits at the beam ends of that frame, cut with a bull motif known locally as gonas.

No record gives a date, builder, or patron for this particular ambalama; what survives is its function and setting, generally in keeping with Kandyan-era work. In 2017 its roof was covered over in corrugated tin, and a later repair is said to have disregarded the original design further. A subsequent restoration replaced this with semi-cylindrical clay tiles and a clay pinnacle said to match the traditional style typical of Kandyan-era ambalamas.