Dehiwela, once a thriving fishing village outside Colombo, is now a suburb of the city. Time was when tourists came to Dehiwela to watch the daily fish auctions held on the beach, where shark, sawfish, dogfish, and various species of ray, were paraded. Now tourists come to Dehiwela mainly to visit the Zoological Gardens. Another attraction for the tourist at Dehiwela is the Buddhist Subodharmaya temple, a delightfully tranquil spot in the bustle of the suburbs, which features a reclining state of the Buddha described by the mystic P. D. Ouspensky as the Buddha with the sapphire eyes. It was considered by him to be no less than one of the six spiritual wonders of the world.
