GIRIHANDU SEYA

This Buddhist temple is an almost intact vatadage, which would have collected a relic of Buddha. Legend has it that after 50 days of spiritual elevation, the Buddha accepted food from two maritime merchants. They asked for a souvenir in return, and Buddha offered them a lock of hair. The merchants hid the relic in the mountain while they completed their mission. When they returned to Thiriyai, it was firmly anchored in the rock. It was at this very spot that the stupa was built, the very first in Sri Lanka.