About this experience
Embekke Devala is a 14th-century shrine in the Udunuwara area of the Kandy District, dedicated to the deity Kataragama and known across Sri Lanka for its wood carving. This listing is the entrance ticket to the devala, booked ahead for your party.
The shrine is believed to have been first built by King Vikramabahu III of the Gampola period, and it has three parts: the sanctum, the Digge or Dancing Hall, and the Hevisi Mandapaya or Drummers' Hall. It is the Drummers' Hall that most visitors come to see, an open pavilion under a steep tiled roof raised on 32 carved wooden pillars.
Each pillar is worked on every face with panels of entwined swans, double-headed eagles, knotted rope designs, dancers, wrestlers, a soldier on horseback and composite creatures such as an elephant entwined with a bull. Overhead, a single great wooden pin known as the Madol Kurupawa holds 26 roof rafters together at one end of the roof, a piece of carpentry that draws as much attention as the carvings themselves.
The ticket can be booked on its own, listed as the on-foot option, or together with a vehicle sized to your group: a standard car for one or two guests, a standard van for three to five, and a large van for six to eight. Gratuities, food and drink, and personal expenses are not included.
