Interior of the Aluvihare Rock Temple, Matale

Shrine room of the Aluvihare Rock Temple, in Matale. This was originally shot on assignment for Explore Sri Lanka magazine in May 2017, to be featured in my piece, ‘A Drive through Rattota‘, but never made it to print.

Prayer Niches #2

Triangular pigeonholes cut into the rock are used by devotees to hold small clay oil lamps. Aluvihare, Sri Lanka, May 2017.

Interior of the Aluvihare Rock Temple, Matale #2

Famous as the place where the ‘Tripitaka’ was first written down as the ‘Pali Canon’ in the 1st Century BC, the temple has been destroyed several times over the centuries. Sri Lanka, May 2017.

Aluvihare Rock Temple, Matale, Sri Lanka

Matale, Sri Lanka, May 2017.

Prayer Niches

The Aluvihare Rock Temple, Matale, Sri Lanka. May 2017.

Buddhist Hell

Depictions of what awaits sinners in the afterlife, at the Aluvihare Rock Temple, Matale, in the foothills of the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. May 2017.