The road between Kandy and Dambulla offers quite interesting points of interest to entertain a bit the journey. Matale Temple, locally called Sri Muthumariamman Temple, is one of the spot not to be missed. This hindu temple has a triple signification in his name : pearl for "muthu", rain for "mari" and mother for "amman". Matale temple is devoted to Mariamman, the goddess of rain and fertility....
Matale temple is quite an easy stop, only one hour drive from Kandy. Five minutes drive away stands also Aluviharaya Rock temple, which is quite interesting to be combined. Matale temple is quite nice, however, to be 100 % honest, this temple was not as beautiful as other ones I had the opportunity to visit, such as tamoul temple in Saint-Pierre on la Réunion island.
However, Hindu temples are always so colorful with such an impressing number little carved caracters and sculptures, whether it is goddess, elephants, gods, etc...
The temple is not full of tourists, most of people you will meet are locals coming to pray and do their daily rituals. If you are lucky, you might see wedding celebrations, which are so beautiful with women wearing saree, etc...
The middle of the temple is fill in with an other mini inner temple, opened to the sky.
Outside of the temple, admire the number of gold statues, this is a bit kitch compared to our occidental churches but so impressive.
Pictures taken with an old smart phone
However, Hindu temples are always so colorful with such an impressing number little carved caracters and sculptures, whether it is goddess, elephants, gods, etc...
Turning around the temple, we had the nice surprise to see a school with small pupils on little chairs and tables, very cut.
Entry is around 250 roupies and I recommend to stop there for 15 to 20 minutes. The art of the temple is really different from the numerus buddhist temples of the region, which offers a bit of variety in the exploration of the Sri Lankan cultural triangle.
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