Mannar District – Travel

Yodha Wewa

The Yodha Wewa in Mannar also known as Manawatu Wawa is one of the largest tanks in Sri Lanka and was built by King Dhatusena (459-477) by damming and diverting water from the Malwatu-oya.   Many a modern engineer has been baffled by the sophisticated designs on which these reservoirs and channel systems were constructed. It is known that the Dutch engineers of the eighteenth century and their British counterparts in the nineteenth failed to understand the design of the giant tank.

Mannar Fort

The Mannar Fort was built by Portuguese in 1560. The fort fell to the Dutch in 1658, and they rebuilt the fort in 1696. In 1795 the British occupied the fort following the surrender by the Dutch. It is a square shaped fort with four bastions and is located next to the new bridge that connects the mainland with the Mannar Island.

Thanthirimale Raja Maha Viharaya

 *Religious site, dress code matters

The Thanthirimale Rajamaha Viharaya  was built in the third Century BC and it was used for Arahanth Theri Sangamitta to stay on her way to Anuradhapura. One of the first eight offshoots of Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi was planted at Thanthirimale Raja Maha Viharaya.   Earlier it was a very small temple and later became a large monastery.  Now it is covered with a thick forest but still it maintains the peace and serenity.

Protected area with coral reefs.

Special feature in this park is there are natural lakes.

This is the place where the sea separating India and Sri Lanka is called Sethusamudra meaning “Sea of the Bridge”