When the Kingdom of Ruhuna was established it received many travellers and traders from Siam, China and Indonesia who sought anchorage in the natural harbor at Godawaya, Ambalantota. The ships or large boats these traders travelled in were called “Sampans” and “thota” means port or anchorage so the port where sampans anchor came to be known as “Sampanthota” (which is now known as Godawaya). After some time the area became to be called “Hambanthota”.

Kingdom of Magama which is also guarded by lord Katharagama is one of the most visited areas by Sri Lankans and most of the time they only manage to visit few places which are commonly known. First of all Hasitha’s report was the guide I used to plan my journey and succeeded with what I attempted in! Im not going to mention anything related to the history of Magama kingdom in detail since Hasitha has done a good job in his report! As the title says this is a summery on Kataragama, please do enjoy the images!

ruled by regional kings such as Mahanaga and Kawantissa. Archeological monuments scattered around which belongs to Anuradhapura era silently express its ancient glory. Buddhist heritage of Magama is centered around the four main stupas namely Tissamaharama chaitya, Sandagiri vehera, Yatala chaitya and Menik vehera.

Having following the Television series of the “Maha Sancharakaya” of Mr. Jackson Anthony we both decided to visit some of these historical sites on a visit to Kataragama on the long weekend of 23th to 25rg February 2013. The Ruhunu Kingdom was a provincial principality, came to focus only when King Detu Gamunu defeating King Elara and unifying the country in the early period of the Anuradhapura Kingdom.