It’s believed Buddha visited the site of this temple on his third visit to Sri Lanka. Suitably grand and labyrinthine, it has a dramatic past. The original temple was destroyed by Indian invaders, restored, and then destroyed again by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The Dutch restored it again in the 18th century in order to curry favour locally.
The dagoba, which (unusually) is hollow, is the focus of the Duruthu Perahera in January each year. The complex is some 7km northeast of Fort, just off the Kandy Rd.