Archaeological site, Cumilla
Kotila Muraকোটিলা মুড়া
- Time needed
- Forty minutes plus the gate.
- best months
- Oct–Mar
- Cost
- Free.
Three stupas in a row inside the Mainamati cantonment, 5 km north of Shalban, standing for the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha; the best-preserved stupas on the ridge, but inside army land.
At a glance
- Stupas
- Three, for the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha
- Access
- Inside Mainamati cantonment, ID at the gate
About
Kotila Mura is a walled enclosure holding three large stupas side by side, each on a cross-shaped base, with a cluster of votive stupas and a chapel around them. The centre one keeps a wheel-shaped core, the Dharmachakra, inside its drum. Excavated in the 1950s, it is dated between the 7th and 12th centuries.
Because it lies inside the cantonment, you must sign in at the gate and may be asked for ID; photography of anything but the ruins is not allowed.
Getting there: CNG from Kotbari or the cantonment bus stand to the cantonment gate, then inside with permission.
Things to do
- See the Dharmachakra core of the middle stupa.
Good to know
- Carry an ID card; no photos of the cantonment.
