One of Sri Lanka's most curious archaeological puzzles concerns the history of the two massive statues of the Buddha located within 11 kilometres of each other in the North Central Province. They are so similar - in some ways at least - that they have been called twin statues - or Gog and Magog as they were referred to by the founder of Sri Lankan archaeology, H. C. P. Bell, in the late 19th century. 

The Sasseruwa statue is only 11 km west of Aukana. Access is not easy, however, due to the condition of the approach roads. Look out for signposts to Resvehere, the name of the monastery where the statue is located. There are around 100 cave cells here, the remains of dagobas, moonstones and inscriptions dating back to the 2nd century BC. Although Sasseruwa was in ancient times an extensive monastery, today only a few monks inhabit the caves.