Gandara ( si, ගන්දර, ta, கந்தறை) is a village in the

Matara District Matara ( si, මාතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''Mātara distrikkaya''; ta, மாத்தறை மாவட்டம் ''Māttaṛai māvaṭṭam'') is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts ...

on the southern coast of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, from

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. It is an important village in Matara. It was slightly affected by the

Asian tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

in December 2004.

History

Historically, Gandara belongs to the area called

Ruhuna The Principality of Ruhuna, also referred to as the Kingdom of Ruhuna, is a region of present-day Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka. It was the center of a flourishing civilisation and the cultural and economic centres of ancient Sri Lanka. Magama, Ti ...

, one of the three kingdoms in Sri Lanka (Thun Sinhalaya). The temple in the village was built by ancient kings and now is a popular sacred place among

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

in the area. The mosque in the village was built by villagers in the late 1840s.

Polling division

Devinuwara Dondra (, ) is a settlement on the extreme southernmost tip of Sri Lanka, in the Indian Ocean near Matara, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. The Dondra Head Lighthouse, ruins of several Hindu shrines of Tenavaram and a Vihara (Buddhist temple) are ...

''Polling divisions – Matara – slelections.gov.lk''
(pdf)

Education

Schools

* Gandara Maha Vidyalaya * Gandara kanitu Viduhala * Al Azhar Muslim Kanista Vidyalaya, established in 1938.

Places of Worship

* Purana Viharaya, Gandara * Wijerathnaramaya Temple, Gandara * Abayasekararamaya Temple, Gandara * Sri Jayabodhi Viharaya, Gandara * Muhiyaddeen Jumma Mosque

Transport

Gandara is on the Matara –

Kataragama Kataragama ( si, කතරගම, translit=Kataragama , ta, கதிர்காமம், translit=Katirkrāmam) is a pilgrimage town sacred to Hindu, Buddhist and indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka. People from South India also go there to ...

main road, which is served by the A32 highway.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Matara in Sri Lankan Village Directory

District Secretariat – Matara
Populated places in Southern Province, Sri Lanka Populated places in Matara District Suburbs of Matara, Sri Lanka