To reach the Embekke Devaie, and the start of the walk, take bus 643 from the Goods Shed Bus Terminal (every 20min; 1hr); alternatively, a taxi to the temple will cost around Rs.500.The bus drops you in Embekke village. It 1km walk from here to the temple: turn right onto the tiny road opposite th red postbox, then follow it straight ahead as it switchbacks up over a steep hill. Dating from the fourteenth century, the rustic little Embekke Devaie, dedÂicated to Kataragama, is famous principally for the fine pavilion (the digge) fronting the main shrine, with its intricately decorated wooden pillars -apparently brought here from another temple at Gampola. Each of the myriad pillars bears a different design, a marvellously carved assortment of peacocks, entwined swans, wrestlers, dragons, dancers, horsemen, soldiers and Bodhisattvas (shown as composite figures: part man, part fish, part bird). One of the most famous panels depicts an elephant and lion fighting; another show what looks curiously like a Habsburg double-headed eagle.Two quaint lion’s flank the entrance to the main Kataragama shrine behind, which is topped by a delicate pagoda-tower. To the left of the main building stands an unusual granary, raised on stones above the ground to protect its contents from wild animals; to the right, a subsidiary shrine with sumptuously carved wooden doors houses a Buddha and a fine (but difficult to see) wooden statue of a peacock, a bird traditionally associated with Kataragama.
