Ambalangoda is a city in Southern Province of Sri Lanka 25 km south of Bentota and 32 km north Galle. It's famous for its traditional wood masks manufacturing.

Understand

Buddhist temple

Ambalangoda has many museums to visit.

Masks and puppets

The town is renowned for the manufacture of wooden masks and puppets. The traditional masks are carved from light Balsa-like Kaduru wood. The wood is smoke dried for a week in preparation. The hand-carved and hand-painted masks in traditional dance dramas are vibrant and colourful.

Masks are created for three different types of dancing rituals: 'Kolam', which tell mocking stories of traditional Sri Lankan colonial life; 'Sanni', or devil dancing masks, used in a type of exorcism ceremony to heal people of persisting illnesses believed to be inflicted by demons; and 'Raksha' masks, which are used in festivals and processions. Local puppet shows, showing dramas, comedies and folk tales were also a popular form of entertainment. Influences from South India, Asia and Europe are assumed to have been the shaping factor in the art of mask dancing and puppetry. The Naga Raksha (Cobra demon) mask of the 'Raksha Kolama' (demon dance), consists of a ferocious face with bulging, popping & staring eyes, a carnivorous tongue lolling out of a wide mouth armed to the hilt with set of fanged teeth, all topped by a set of cobra hoods.

With the practices of traditional exorcism (thovil), mask dancing (kolam) and puppetry (rookada) shows in the decline, there has been a decline in interest the art of mask-carving. Though only a few of the antique originals survive, the local mask museum retains an interesting collection of reproductions and provides displays of carving techniques for visitors.

Get in

It is 87 km (54 mi) south of Colombo.

By rail

Ambalangoda is served by the Coastal Line railway, connected to the major cities.

By car

It is served by the A2 highway, which runs through the town. Kurundugahahetekma entrance of the E01 expressway is 13 km (8.1 mi) from Ambalangoda.

See

Traditional masks in Ambalangoda

• The main attraction of Ambalangoda are the masks. There is the Ariyapala Mask Museum, with some workshops and antique masks too.
• Near the museum, a dance school is teaching Sri Lankans the dance movements. It's possible to see a show of the spectacular traditional dance, named Kolam, where dancers wear masks.
• The large railway station that was built in 1894.
• Dutch Courthouse (අම්බලන්ගොඩ ඕලන්ද අශ්ව ඉස්තාලය), built in 1750. It was built as a church, but later it served as a courthouse and as a stable.
• Galgoda Sailatalaramaya Maha Vihara Temple or Delduwa Vivekarama Aranya Senasanaya is a Buddhist temple on an island in the Lake Madampe. It has a 35-m-long Buddha, South Asia's longest statue of a reclining Buddha, and some mural paintings that are nice to see too
• Sunandarama Vihara (අම්බලන්ගොඩ සුනන්දාරාම මහා විහාරය) is one of the oldest Buddhist temples on the southern coast, with the largest Thorana (gateway arch) in Sri Lanka.
• Madu River Wetlands: the 915-hectare Madu Ganga Estuary is connected by two narrow channels to the Randombe Lake, forming a complex wetland system encompassing 64 mangrove islets. It is a Ramsar classified wetland.
• Rock pool is a natural beach pool formed out of two angled rocks on the beach behind the former rest house.

Do

Visit masks museums and the 19th-century railway station.

Eat

Ambalangoda has maintained a strong attachment towards seafood from its long-standing affiliation with the fishing industry. The local specialties, most of which consist of spiced dishes of fish, include:

• Biling Achcharu — A spicy condiment made from dried biling, Maldives fish and chilies.
• Fish ambul thiyal — A fish dish, mainly tuna, cooked dry in a thick seasoning of pepper, lime, salt and spices.
• Fish jaadi — Fish preserved in a marination of lime, vinegar and salt.