This  cave Temple has been  built in 1st c BC . This was formerly  a cave where King Valagmaba was in hiding after he lost the throne to a South Indian invader.  After he  defeated the invader and ascended the throne again,  he built this Temple  in the 15th year of his reign. There are five  natural caves here.  These are at  middle  a giant  rock which is  about 500 ft high and about 2,000 ft long. There is a flight of steps  carved out in the rock itself  for devotees to reach the   temple  which is situated  close to the peak of the rock. You get a beautiful view of the  forest  cover and  villages below when you reach the top of the rock.

The panoramic view  from the top of the rock is  very fascinating indeed.  At the foot of the rock are the  lands which the King had gifted to the temple for its upkeep. Inside the Temple you find images of the  Buddha as well as Hindu Gods.  There is an image of the Buddha which is about 47 ft long carved out of the rock itself.  In front of  this image of the Buddha is an image of God Vishnu which is carved out of timber.   Among the murals found inside the Temple  are some which are more than 2,000 years old.

Inside the cave named ‘Maha Viharaya’,  you find the statue  of King  Valgmaba and  about 500  other images . All these are  more than life size images. This is the most beautiful  cave out of all the five caves. This cave is 160 ft long and  50 ft wide. . At the entrance it is 23 ft high but as you go  forward further and further the  heights gets lower and lower as the rock is  in a slanting  position ;  at the end of the opposite side of the entrance is only 05 ft in height . There  is a large area of the walls and the   rock overhead covered by  murals ; these belong to Buddhist as well as Hindu traditions.  Among these murals ,  we can see  a mural depicting the  arrival of Vijaya in 543 BC .

You also  find some inscriptions on the rock here. One of the inscriptions  is an order that  when  villages and lands are gifted ( to the temple), these gifts should be made through writing on  slabs of brass and not  by writing on ola leaves. This is a royal command made by King Parakramabahu the Great . This command    is   recognized   even today  in our judicial system.