Gangaramaya Buddhist temple is one of major temples in Colombo being a great mix of traditional cultural essence and modern architecture. This temple is a perfect example for the combinations of Sri Lankan, Indian, Thai and Chinese architecture. The temple was built in 19th Century by Don Bastian (De Silva Jayasuriya Goonewardena, Mudaliyar) who was a shipping merchant and the temple was donated to Venerable Matara Sri Dhammarama Thero. This temple was a home to few famous Buddhist monks & scholars such as Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera, Welivitiye Dharmarathna Thera and Pandit Batuwanduve.
Today, Gangaramaya Temple is functioning as a Buddhist worshipping place and a learning center. Also involved in Buddhist welfare work such as elderly homes, a vocational school and an orphanage. Annual Perehara- the grandest festival of of Gangaramaya temple is an iconic event that is organized by the temple in ever year month of February, displaying the rich cultural and religious tradition of Sri Lanka. It is a fascinating event that hundreds of elephants nicely adorned with colorful costumes walk with the parade of hundreds of traditional drummers and dancers on the street along with Buddhist monks.
Other iconic feature of Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple is the museum. The museum was initiated by Ven Jinarathana Nayake Thera as a huge collection of artifacts, donative items, other religious, cultural and historical value items.