Aluvihara Cave Temple is located in the center of Sri Lanka, 3.5 km from the city of Matale and 30 km from the city of Kandy. The first mention of the temple dates back to the 3rd century BC - the time of the rise of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Aluvihara is located on the top of the mountain, once it consisted of thirteen caves, which served as cells for hermit monks who preached Buddhism (in our days only three ancient caves are open to visitors). In the 1st century BC, the monastery of Alulena (now Aluvihara) was located here, in which 60 monks took refuge by heart from the throne of King Wattagamani and the invasion of Sri Lanka by Tamils, who knew by heart the sacred Buddhist texts. Severe famine and persecution by the Tamils put the Buddhist community of Sri Lanka on the brink of extinction - the monasteries were empty, most of the monks who knew the Canon left the country or died of starvation. The system of memorization and oral transmission of sacred Buddhist texts was unreliable, so it was decided to record the teachings of the Buddha in Sinhala. The IV Buddhist Sangha Cathedral was assembled, at which the sacred texts were recited and verified by the best experts on the Canon. 500 monks were selected who, having secluded themselves in the temple of Aluvihara, wrote texts of the Pali canon, better known as Tripitaka, for three years on palm leaves. In subsequent years, until the 18th century, Sinhala chronicles did not contain any information about Aluvihara. Most likely, like many other Buddhist shrines, the temple was looted and fell into decay after the defeat of the Sinhala state by the ruler of Kalinga in 1215. In the middle of the XVIII century, under the ruler of Sri Vijaya Rajasinha, Aluvihara began to revive, and in 1848 was taken by storm and almost destroyed by British colonial forces during the suppression of the uprising in Matala. It was then that the library of the temple was destroyed, and with it the priceless Tripitaki manuscripts. The restoration of Aluvihara began at the end of the 19th century, part of the caves were repaired and a stone staircase and an arch with a bell were built. The entrance to the temple is made in the form of a huge portal. To the right of the entrance is an octagonal gazebo, inside which is a statue of a seated Buddha, to the left is a large obelisk with the inscription "Aliviharaya. Rock Cave Temple. Matale" carved on it. A stone-paved road leads to the elevated monastery. Aluvihara cave complex is located to the right of the monastery buildings. In the first cave there is a 10-meter statue of a reclining Buddha, as well as many statues of a standing and sitting Buddha. The ceiling and walls are richly decorated with paintings and stucco. From the first temple, you can climb a stone staircase to a platform knocked out in a rock, where a second cave temple is located in a niche under the rock. Now there are statues of the lying Mahaparinirvana Buddha and Buddha in a meditation position. In the crevice between the rocks is the "Room of Fear", which presents terrible scenes of executions practiced during the time of the last Kandy king, Sri Vikram Rajasinha, as well as the punishments awaiting sinners in hell. The scenes are so realistic that not all visitors can withstand this bloody sight. Climbing another staircase, you can get to the third cave, in which, according to legend, the Buddhist monk and scientist Buddhaghoshi lived while working on the Pali canon. A small pavilion with a statue of Buddhaghoshi is also built here and the sacred Bodhi tree grows. Even higher is a small stupa, from the platform on which it is built, a beautiful panoramic view of the temple of Aluvihara and the surrounding area opens. The restoration of the Aluvihara Temple, one of Sri Lanka's most important cultural sites, continues today. However, the main task of the monks is to recreate manuscripts with the sacred texts of the Pali canon. This painstaking work takes a lot of time (the ancient method of processing palm leaves and applying texts on them is complex and time-consuming, and the volume of the Pali canon is 20 times the volume of the Bible).