It is one of only a few hollow Buddhist stupas in the world and its interior contains 74 murals, each depicting a different aspect of the Buddha's life.

Visitors can walk inside the Kalutara Chaitya to worship and to look at the statues and wall paintings of the stories of Buddha.

[2] The stupa was commissioned by Sir Cyril de Zoysa,[3] with the design undertaken by Justin Samarasekera in collaboration with A. N. S. Kulasinghe.

The Kalutara Bodhiya, one of 32 saplings of the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, was shared with the official residence of the Government agent and the local Kachcheri.

De Zoysa persuaded the government to relocate the agent’s residence and offices to a site he owned in Nagoda, in order to allow the development and restoration of the Bodhi premises.