Our centre in Sri Lanka is located in a forest / cave monastery that has been set up to accommodate international meditators. The monastery is a forest monastery on the side of a rock incline with three caves, ravines and rain forest. The full name of the monastery is Ekayana Magga Gotama Putra Aranya Senasanaya, but the locals know it as Gallena Aranya (cave hermitage).
We plan on holding our next Sri Lanka course in January, 2014. Please keep this in mind when planning to come to our centre.
Driving directions are as follows:
Coming from Colombo, one should cross the river in Hanwella (on the way to Avisawella), and pass through the town of Pugoda going North. About 2 km past Pugoda you will come to the Dungella Junction (unmarked), with a computer store on the left and a side road going to the right. Take this road (turn right) and go for another 2 km, and you will come to a road on the right going through the paddy fields with a little sign in Singhala that has the name of the monastery on it. Take this road (turn right again), and follow the road all the way up to the end, where you will come to a hall which is the entrance to the monastery.
If you have Google Earth installed, here is a file that you can open to see the location from space:
We are still just beginning to receive a very limited number of brave meditators. Our centre is quite rugged and facilities are still primitive. At the moment, we have the following accommodations for meditators:
- two cave huts
- two small rooms
- a meditation hall
- an outdoor shower
- a washroom with indoor shower
- one 12′x12′ tent
- one smaller tent
Here is a photo gallery of some of our centre’s environs:
http://yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org/2011/05/13/cave-meditation-centre-photos/
Here is a video tour: