
Ambalama Heritage
Wahugapitiya Gal Ambalama
Central Province
Kandy District
7°07'02.8"N 80°37'20.8"E
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STAND INSIDE IT — 360°
THE PLACE
A stone wayside shelter beside the main road in the Wahugapitiya area near Pussellawa, built on a flat, earth-filled terrace. It is roughly square in plan, its walls raised to about three feet in granite blocks, with a roof carried on granite pillars fixed into the wall.
The front pillars carry inscriptions. According to a single heritage-documentation source that has recorded them, the right pillar states that the ambalama was erected in February 1929 by RM Arimuthu, whose initials are given as KP, in memory of his late father. The left pillar carries an inscription, giving a birth date of 25 June 1850 and 39 years of service at a place recorded only as "Beaumont" — likely a colonial-era estate in the surrounding hill country, though this is not confirmed — alongside a carved figure of Ganesha.
Ambalamas of this kind were built across Sri Lanka as rests for travelers and as meeting places for the surrounding community. This one's dated inscription places it within the British colonial period, an example of the practice continuing long after the Kandyan kingdom more often credited with it.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS
THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTES
The shelter is beside the Peradeniya–Nuwara Eliya route. Stop only where it is safe and legal, remain clear of moving traffic and do not climb on the stonework.
- Viran de Silva
UNIQUE SRI LANKA
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SOURCES
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RECORD
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CONTACT
Photographs © Viran de Silva
info@virandesilva.com
uniquesrilanka.com

