Seema Malakaya Meditation Centre

One of Colombo’s most photographed sights is on an island on the east side of the South Beira Lake. This small but captivating meditation centre was designed by Geoffrey Bawa in 1985 and is run by Gangaramaya Temple. The pavilions – one filled with Thai bronze Buddhas, another centred on a bodhi tree and four Brahmanist images – are especially striking when illuminated at night. New additions appear less sympathetic to the poetic original.