Visit the Ambuluwawa tower in Kandy, a mysterious construction

25 km from Kandy town, in the Gampola valley, stands a white tower that contrasts with the dark green of the surrounding countryside.

From its summit, you can see Kandy and in particular the Hantana assembly line and the Udawatta Kele forest (discover this biodiversity reserve by visiting the Royal Forest and hiking in the Hantana mountains).

No one knows the history of this tower, which, despite its popularity, remains a mystery among Kandy's attractions.

As well as being unknown, this tower has another special feature. In its garden, at the foot of the structure, you can admire a number of religious buildings.

• A Buddhist temple
• a bodhi tree
• a Christian church
• an Islamic mosque
• a Hindu kovil.

All these religions, symbols of the enormous diversity of peoples, are gathered here, at the foot of the Ambulawawa tower. This is Sri Lanka's first multi-religious site.

From Kandy

By taxi or tuk-tuk From Kandy, you can take a taxi or tuk-tuk directly, the journey takes an hour and you can book your journey via the "Pickme" and "Uber" apps.

By train For a unique cultural experience, you can opt for a train journey. From Kandy Railway Station, the train will take you to Gampola in 45 minutes. From there, you'll need to take a tuk-tuk up to the tower.

Once you've arrived at the ticket office car park, you can choose to take a tuk-tuk to climb up to the tower or decide to go up on foot. Sports enthusiasts be warned: the path is 3 kilometres long and very steep.

In any case, the last few metres are too steep for motors, so you'll have to finish on foot.

There are several stages in the climb up the tower, from the least to the most dangerous.

• To begin with, the ascent is made from the inside. Stairs take you to a large balcony, where the view is already impressive.
• Then you start to climb the stairs on the outside of the tower. The path is interspersed with passages inside the tower and small balconies where you can admire the view.
• Finally, you reach the most dangerous part of the climb, the spiral staircases around the tower. Seen from above, these stairs form a star that surrounds the structure. The higher you go, the narrower the staircases become. Towards the end, it's dangerous to pass anyone as there's no room left to pass each other.

"The climb up the tower was very intense, especially towards the end. But once I got to the top, I couldn't believe my eyes - the view was breathtaking! Matthieu, coming down from the tower.