Uncovering Arambekema

The stone ruins that was once the palace of King Dappula:

By Mahil Wijesinghe

The picturesque rock waterhole of

Hambegamuwa is a rustic village nestled deep in the jungle of the eastern border of the Udawalawe National Park.

Access to the village is along the Thanamalwila-Udawalawe road, which leads to Balangoda, and is dotted with several key villages including Welioya, Medabedda and Uggalkaltota. The distance to Hambegamuwa on this narrow road, which snake through picturesque setting, is about 30 kilometers.

Although I have visited the areas surrounding Hambegamuwa, I have never really visited this serene village; surfeit with trees, tanks, rocky outcrops, archaeological sites, wildlife and of course the genial village folks.

To the west is the Udawalawe National Park, untamed and visible with the sounds of the wild frequently permeating the quietude of the village.

Carved out of the jungle with the traditional chena cultivation, Hambegamuwa became a prosperous village, earning notoriety for its cannabis (ganja) cultivation, mainly because of its isolation from the outside world and its thick forest cover. According to historical records, Hambegamuwa was, in colonial times, a hunting ground of the white men. The village and its environ is well documented in prominent surveyor Dr. R.L. Brohier’s ‘Seeing Ceylon’.

The Rock pool on the rocky boulder

Stone ruins on the rock boulder

It is intriguing that the rural settings of Hambegamuwa still remain near true to the description in Brohier’s opus, though the adjoining villages of Migaswewa, Nikawewa, Agunakolapelessa, Kahakurullanpelassa and Arabegama have undergone sea change, and boats of rural farmer communities, medical facilities and schools.

Buddhist monastery

Set against the picturesque backdrop of the mountain ranges of Ulkanda, Yakgala and Binopokuna with Bambaragala standing a distant sentinel to the west, is the tranquil Hambegamuwa tank. The profusion of water lilies and water birds ups the beauty quotient of the tank, which is also a popular watering hole for wild elephants from the Udawalawe National Park, a constant menace to the villagers.

It was a sunny day when I trekked through Hambegamuwa, explore the hidden archaeological site called Arambekema, an ancient Buddhist monastery. A rocky outcrop spanning an area of 15 acres, it is indeed an impressive site, the cynosure being the small shrine room at the top.

But equally intriguing is the rock caves with drip-ledges, rock water pools with water lily blossoms and rock cut flights of steps to the summit of the rock.

The numerous ruins, including a dagaba, stone slabs and pillars scattered around the rocky outcrop, indicate that this place was a flourishing Buddhist monastery in the past. Reaching the top is worth the exertion and the effort, as it gives you a perfect bird’s eye view of the entire forest canopy of Hambegamuwa.

Walking around the rock boulder, I came across many stone ruins scattered around, believed to be the remnants of a Buddhist monastery. It is interesting that there had been no archaeological exploration of the area.

Sadly though, what could have been an unblemished site had been marred by greed, with treasure hunters, blowing up parts of the rock in their search for treasure. Yet, Arambekema, hints at secretes and forgotten lifestyles… of life lived to a different beat centuries ago.

Neglected spot

Overlooked in the grander schemes of archeological findings, Arambekema is a neglected spot of history, overgrown with creepers and overtaken by the vicissitudes of time. But a lone Buddhist monk has been trying to save this historical site from being buried in decay and neglect and forgotten.

Having built a small shrine room atop the rock, the monk has been striving to make the place a Buddhist shrine.

Somehow or other, his ambition is to bring back the glory of this historical site, and make it a place of significance once again. For, if one is to accept what history records, the huge boulder spread over a vast area in the serene and beautiful countryside, was the palace built by the regional King Dappula, centuries ago

Hambegamuwa tank with lotus blossoms	The rocky landscape of Arambekema