The Kadadora Vihara is an ancient temple with fascinating architecture, and visitors who go to the Kotmale reservoir bed during the drought have the opportunity to explore this decadent but elegant temple. The images you took show the gratitude of humanity and are a perfect example of how life continues with nostalgic memories of the past.It is unfortunate that visitors are now not allowed to see the ruins of the temple because of its crumbling walls. It is said that a military camp has been established along the road leading to the location. It is important to respect the restrictions and decisions of local authorities to ensure the safety and preservation of the site.Kotmale is an important historical site in the central highlands known as Malaya Rata on the ancient map of Sri Lanka, where Prince Gemunu, who later became King Dutugemunu, made his mark as he fled from Ruhunu Rata to Malaya Rata.Later, this historically important region became the land of Sinhalese kings and peasants. Sinhalese peasants built the Kadadora Vihara in the early 1900s in the village of Kadadora, near Dehedukadulla, on the banks of the Kotmale Oya River, a major tributary of the Mahaweli Ganga River and one of Kotmale’s historic sites.They probably never imagined that the river, about half a century later, would flood their places of worship. When the Kotmale Dam, a major reservoir under the Mahaweli Development Program, was built across the Kadadora and Tispane hills in 1979, the people of the ancestral villages were relocated and the temple went underwater. Since then, the temple structure has been playing hide-and-seek, emerging when the water level drops during drought, earning it the name "hidden temple."In addition, more than 50 temples were submerged when the Kotmale Reservoir was built, barring the Tispane and Kadadora hills, and a massive chaitya known as the Mahaweli Maha Seya was built on top of the Kadadora hill overlooking the Kotmale Reservoir to symbolize the submerged religious monuments.When the temple emerges, visitors come in hundreds to offer flowers and receive blessings.
