Meemure is an isolated village situated 324 meters above sea level in the central province of Sri Lanka, hidden among the hills. The only way to get there is from the mountain’ Hunnasgiriya,’ which is part of the Knuckles range, about 50 km from Kandy. It is a challenging 33 km path from Hunnasgiriya to Meemure with lots of tricky places, although the view is outstanding along it. The town itself gets abundant waterfall that has its sources in the Knuckles ‘ evergreen forests. The pyramid-shaped Lakegala mountain is situated to the east of the village; while the scenic Knuckles range dominates the west. Meemure’s northern border borders a forest that goes to the grassland of’ Pitawala Pathana;’ and Heen River borders the south.
The village dates back to nearly 5000 years ago, according to the folklore. There is belief that Lakegala which lies to the south was the estate of the iconic King Ravana of the Indian literary epic Ramayana. As the tales go, Ravana used Lakegala as an energy source and in Ramayana’s time there was a tunnel through Lakegala. It is said that after the Ramayana battle, the tunnel was closed with Ravana’s corpse inside it.
Another tale dates back to 700 B.C, the period of King Vijaya, thought to be the forefather of Sri Lanka’s present population. Vijaya arrived with his supporters on the island from India and caught sight of the shapely figure of Kuveni. He was overtaken by lust and took Kuveni as his unofficial wife. She bore him two kids, but Vijaya banished her from his castle. Hence Kuveni was forced to take refuge in the forest with her two children. Legend says that they lived in the forest close to Meemure and that the indigenous people of Sri Lanka originated from the children of Kuveni.
Legends are many when it comes to pre-historic times in Sri Lanka, but at times they are not at all myths, but reality.