Since the focus towards Hambantota district has increased with the Sri Lankan tourism, Mulgirigala rock temple is visited by lots of tourists every day. The temple can be reached within 30 minutes from Tangalla, Sri Lanka. The Mulgirigala temple situated on a high pitched boulder covered with a thick forest. The inscriptions at Mulgirigala rock temple proclaim that the temple was a monastery complex for about 2000 years ago.
This high rising rock temple was a brain child of King Kavantissa. He donated an 18 feet Buddha statue to the temple. A panoramic view of the Coastal area can be seen from the top of the rock. The climb to the rock temple quite worth as you can entertain a gorgeous outlook around the area. Sophisticated murals and frescoes are painted on the walls of the Vihara geya. The temple compound is divided into 3 terraces. As you enter the first terrace you can worship the sacred Bo tree and Twin Caves. Paduama Rahat Viharaya constituted of 2 Buddha statues signifying the Parinirvana of Buddha. The recumbent Buddha statues attempt you to think about serenity. Images of God Vishnu, God Vibhishana, and God Kataragama are interesting. Some say that the Mulgirigala Buddhist rock temple is quite similar to the Dambulla Raja Maha Viharaya. The inner walls of the Paduma Rahat Viharaya are decorated with jathatka stories depicting several scenes of lord Buddha’s journey of life. Archeologists say that they date back to the 18th century.
The next terrace leads you to the Medamaluwe Viharaya. You can rest here while drinking a ‘Belimal’ tea or a ‘venivel’ tea from the tea stalls. Medamaluwe viharaya has a reclining Buddha statue fetched with ‘Seriyuth’ thero and Mugalan thero. Eventually, you have to climb another steep staircase to the 3rd terrace. This large terrace has four temples. As a matter of fact, a Parinirvana Buddha statue in the temple recalls of a priceless architecture in Sri Lanka. At the same time, you can see a small rock pool, the temple for God ‘Naga’ and Raja mahavihara. The pool undergoes an ancient inscription indicating the name of the temple ‘Muhundagiri’. The name ‘Mulgirigala’ was derived from ‘Muhundagiri’. Obviously, the Rajamaha vihara in the terrace is a Kandyan style temple tiled with Dutch floor tiles and erected with wooden pillars. Today it has become a home for many sumptuous texts and scriptures.