Maligawila Buddha Statue

Beautiful paradise island of Sri Lanka has a remarkable array of archaeological treasures, which attest to the grandeur of the country’s golden era. There are plenty of places that you can visit while travelling in the island, if you are interested in the ancient history of Sri Lanka. 

The enchanting Maligawila Buddha Statue is one such priceless treasure which should be included in your travel itinerary for sure. It is located in the village named Maligawila, in the Uva Province of Sri Lanka. You can get in touch with Green Holiday if you want to have a tour arranged to this place. 

Maligawila Buddha Statue is a standing statue of Buddha. It is the tallest free standing Buddha statue in Sri Lanka and so it truly deserves a place in your travel plans! The statue has a height of 37 feet and 10 inches. Excavations which were carried out in the area discovered ruins of an image house which once would have sheltered the statue. This majestic image house would have had a length and breadth of 80 feet and a height of 65 feet. The walls of this image house are believed to have been about 4 feet in thickness. 

The Maligawila Buddha Statue was built by a prince named Aggabodhi back in the 7th century. When the statue was discovered it was seriously damaged. The broken statue was damaged by treasure hunters around 1948 too. In the year 1974, attempts were made to reconstruct this beautiful statue but the project ended in failure. But it was beautifully reconstructed and raised in the year 1980 under the guidance and direction of the then President, Ranasinghe Premadasa. 

This majestic statue is one of the best examples of ancient Sri Lankan stone carving art. It bears resemblance to the famous Aukana Buddha Statue too.