Place · cave shrine · Sri Lanka
Ravana's Cave
/ɾaːʋənə guhaːʋə/
Also known as Ravana Guhava, Ravana Ella Cave, Ravana Cave Ella
A cave in the hillside above Ella in Uva Province, traditionally identified as one of the places where Ravana concealed Sita, or as a hideout for Ravana himself. Reached by a steep flight of steps, the cave is part of a larger cluster of Ravana-associated sites in the Ella area — including Ravana Falls just below — that anchor the eastern leg of the Ramayana Trail.
- Periods
- Prehistory, Republic and Living Practice
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Confidence
- Traditional / narrative attribution
- Location
- 6.868, 81.049
Worth knowing
Local tradition holds that a tunnel network once connected this cave with Ravana's palace and other sites across the island, allowing rapid movement. Archaeological work at the cave has recovered prehistoric human remains and tools, indicating occupation dating back tens of thousands of years, though nothing connects those layers to the epic.
The Ramayana identification is traditional; the cave's real archaeological significance is prehistoric habitation, independent of the epic overlay.
On these journeys
Sources
Sri Lankan Department of Archaeology
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