Located within the precincts of the sacred city of Kataragama near Yala, the Kiri Vehera is a part of the Solosmasthana or sixteen sacred sites of Buddhist veneration in Sri Lanka. The Kiri Vehera takes its name from its gleaming white structure which stands 95 feet tall. Believed to have been constructed by King Mahasen to mark the place where the Buddha delivered a sermon on his third visit to the island, it enshrines the golden seat from which the sermon was delivered, a lock of the Buddha’s hair and the royal sword used by Prince Siddhartha to cut off his hair.

Written by Jonathan Roelofsz for Travel Lanka Compass