Joanna James
Bodhinagala Forest Hermitage is a wonderful place of peace and tranquillity located in very close proximity to Colombo. Read on and find more details about this iconic site.
Bodhinagala Forest Hermitage is located in the outskirts of Ingiriya in the Kalutara District. If you are travelling in the city of Colombo, you will be able to reach this site with immense ease. In order to visit the Bodhinagala Forest Hermitage, you will have to travel on the Panadura-Ratnapura highway and travel for another 1.5 kilometres along a smaller road. This road will bring you to the banks of the Kalu Ganga. Just before reaching the river, the road branches to the left. Travel on this road for another 1 kilometre. You will then come to the base of the Dombagaskanda Hill. You should consider trekking up the hill from this point.
There are plenty of tour operators in the country who will help you when you want to have a trip to the Bodhinagala Forest Hermitage arranged. If you stay at centrally located hotels in Kalutara you will be able to reach the site with remarkable ease. Places such as Anantara Kalutara Resort generally arrange tours to the leading attractions in the region for the guests.
Even as you trek up the hill to reach Bodhinagala Forest Hermitage you will be able to catch a glimpse of the rich beauty of the wildlife in the area. The hermitage lies in the middle of a beautiful wet zone rainforest reservation too. The total area of this rainforest is about 347 hectares. In fact, it is said that this rainforest is the closest one that can be accessed from the city of Colombo.
There are many wonderful birds in the area so be sure to be on the lookout! You will find endemic species such as Grey Hornbill here as well. Rose-ringed parakeets, hanging parakeets and hill mynahs are quite easy to spot in the jungle here.
The history of Bodhinagala Forest Hermitage is quite colourful for sure. The hermitage which dates back to the 1950s was founded by Ven. Olaboduwe Sri Revatha Dhamma Kithti Thera. It is said that this Thera used to stay in a makeshift hut in a cemetery in the region, with seven bhikkus. His popularity grew as more and more people started flocking together to hear his preaching. When it was time for him to leave, the villagers were rather reluctant to let him go! The Thera himself visited the thick forest of Dombagaskanda and realised that it was a perfect spot for a forest hermitage. The villagers got together and built kutis and other buildings for the forest hermitage and offered it to the Sangha on the 4th of June 1955. Today the Bodhinagala Forest Hermitage has a number of buildings, medical halls as well as meditative pathways. You will surely be enthralled by its sheer beauty and tranquillity as you visit it!
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