Arankele Forest Monastery

Susith Ravindra Senarath - Google

A protected archaeological site Arankele consists of a Buddhist monastery built in the 8th century where ancient ascetic monks who observed extreme austerity used to reside and meditate. Arankele monastery still provides shelter to meditating Buddhist monks.

Right when you enter there is a pond which is believed to provide hot water and steam baths (Janthagara) for the monks. There is a stairway leading to the inner sections of the monastery where you can see many ruins of various types of buildings. The rock inscriptions with Brahmi letters describe that the monastery had meditation halls, ambulatories and other required structures for the Buddhist monks.