Yapavu

Yapavu, or Yapahuwa, is a rock fortress rising above the plains of northwestern Sri Lanka. Its steep stone staircase leads towards the remains of a royal and religious complex on the rock. In 1272 King Bhuvanekabahu I moved his capital here and brought the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha from Dambadeniya, placing it in a shrine within the fortifications.

The fortress served only briefly as the royal seat. After Bhuvanekabahu’s death in 1284, Pandyan forces from southern India took Yapahuwa and carried the tooth relic away. It was later recovered and brought back to the island, but the court moved to other centres, including Kurunegala. The carved stairway, walls and moats remain evidence of the short period when the rock sheltered both the king and the most precious relic of the kingdom.