Gangaramaya Temple

A working Buddhist temple founded in the late 19th century, crammed with statues, relics, and donated artifacts ranging from vintage cars to Buddha images from Thailand, China, and Myanmar. The adjacent Seema Malaka, a meditation pavilion floating on Beira Lake, was designed by architect Geoffrey Bawa and is included in the same visit. It is at Colombo's Cinnamon Gardens, close to the other main sights. It sits below the headline sights but earns its place on a longer visit to Colombo, especially paired with nearby Seema Malaka Temple.

You walk through incense-filled halls past gilded Buddha statues, then step out onto the lake pavilion where white stupas sit on a small platform surrounded by water and city traffic noise in the distance.

It's one of the few places in Colombo where religious practice, odd museum clutter, and genuinely good architecture (the Bawa-designed Seema Malaka) sit side by side. It is not the first thing you should see in Colombo, but with two or more days it fills a gap the major sights leave. It pairs naturally with Seema Malaka Temple and Viharamahadevi Park - together they fill a solid half-day. Mornings are quieter if you want to take your time.

You will find it in Cinnamon Gardens. It is one entry in our list of things to do in Colombo. The Colombo guide covers transport, costs and when to go.

We plan trips to Colombo and the rest of Sri Lanka. Tell us your dates and we will put a route together. Our routes are on the tours page.