A Sacred Holy site for devotees of any religion in Sri Lanka. With shrines for devotional worship to connect with the timeless Buddha or any of the ancient deities such as Murugan / Skanda, it is an ancient holy slow moving destination. The towering ‘Kiri Vehera’ temple painted in white limestone is difficult to miss, this is where the Buddhist devotees worship the Buddha surrendering prostrated by offering flowers. The Holy Kataragama Procession – ‘Perahera’ held around July every year is a special event in the country, as devotees & dancers of every religion take part, particularly the adherents of the great dancer – Lord Shiva.

During this Holy Procession, devotees walk on the fire, on long stretches of burning firewood & coal, however they emerge from the fire unhurt without any burns. The same devotees take showers of boiling milk & boiling water and come out unhurt again without any burns. Then these devotees pierce their body with needles, piercing through their cheeks, arms & stomachs, but no bleeding or even a drop of blood is anywhere to be seen.

Most foreign travelers who come to see this annual event, claim that this phenomenon is a miracle happening in the island. They love it so much that they hang out in the vicinity to find out how such a supernatural occurrence can happen in modern times. Modern Science fails to find any explanation to this anomaly, which puzzles every researcher & touring Scientist as it defies the laws of nature as we know them. It is certainly bizarre, and entices Travelers to return to watch this annual event every year as it is an astonishing performance and are enticed to join in the procession, to find out for themselves, how & why this anomaly prevails. At its end, the memory of the water is disseminated to all other holy processions around the island, including the ‘Kandyan Perahera’ scheduled to perform a week after, with plenty of Elephants, mystical dancers and ancient music for all creatures.