Anuradhapura
This magnificent white dagoba is guarded by a wall with a frieze of 344 elephants standing shoulder to shoulder. Apart from a few beside the western…
Must-see attractions in Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura
Dating back to the 1st century BC, this colossal dagoba was the ceremonial focus of the 5000-strong Abhayagiri Monastery. Originally over 100m high, it…
Anuradhapura
The sacred bodhi tree is central to Anuradhapura in both a spiritual and physical sense. It was grown from a cutting brought from Bodhgaya in India and is…
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Anuradhapura
The Jetavanarama Dagoba’s massive dome rises above the entire eastern part of Anuradhapura. Built in the 3rd century by King Mahasena, it may have…
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Anuradhapura
The old British colonial administration building has recently been renovated and has an interesting collection of artwork, carvings and everyday items…
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Anuradhapura
Most of the 8th-century Ratnaprasada or 'Jewel Palace' lies in ruins today, though it was originally seven storeys high with a graceful, tiered roof. The…
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Anuradhapura
Two thousand years after the first of the great dagobas was constructed, a huge new stupa, the Sandahiru Seya, is rising on the south side of Anuradhapura…
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Anuradhapura
In a beautiful woodland setting north of the Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba, the Thuparama Dagoba is the oldest dagoba in Sri Lanka – indeed, probably the oldest…
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Anuradhapura
Known as the Park of the Goldfish, these extensive 2000-year-old royal pleasure gardens cover 14 hectares and contain two ponds skilfully designed to fit…
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Anuradhapura
This charming rock temple, dating from the reign of Devanampiya Tissa (r 307–267 BC), is set around a lovely lotus pond, the corner of which is carved…
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Anuradhapura
These swimming-pool-like ponds were likely used by monks from nearby Kaparamula residence hall. Water entered the larger pond through the mouth of a…
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Anuradhapura
A 1937 British colonial building provides a suitably regal venue for some of the treasures found at Jetavanarama. The objects displayed here range from…
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Anuradhapura
Sitting northwest of the Abhayagiri Dagoba, this ruined 9th-century residential complex for monks is notable for having the finest carved moonstone in Sri…
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Anuradhapura
This huge dagoba was the first built by King Dutugemunu after he recaptured the city in the 2nd century BC. The story goes that Dutugemunu went to bathe…
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Anuradhapura
So called because it once had a bronze-tiled roof, the ruins of the 'Brazen Palace' stand close to the bodhi tree. The remains of 1600 columns are all…
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Anuradhapura
This museum, south of the Abhayagiri Dagoba, is arguably the most interesting in Anuradhapura and contains a collection of squatting plates, jewellery,…
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Anuradhapura
Surrounded by forest, this huge body of water is thought to have acted as an ancient water storage tank for the Abhayagiri monastery rather than as a pool…
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Anuradhapura
This 4th-century statue, seated in the samadhi (meditation) pose, is regarded as one of the finest Buddha statues in Sri Lanka. When constructed, it was…
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Anuradhapura World Heritage Site
Anuradhapura
The ruins of Anuradhapura are one of South Asia’s most evocative sights. The sprawling complex contains a rich collection of archaeological and…
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Anuradhapura
This mula, or college, housed the bulk of Anuradhapura's many foreign monks and it was probably here that Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian spent two years studying…
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Anuradhapura
To the southwest of the Abhayagiri Dagoba this small site has a 19m-long stone batnava (or rice canoe) that would have been filled daily with cooked rice…
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Anuradhapura
South of the Isurumuniya Vihara are the faint remains of the Vessagiriya cave monastery, a series of evocative, gravity-defying boulder overhangs etched…
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Anuradhapura
Built in 1070 (some 12 centuries after Anuradhapura’s heyday), this palace was an attempt by King Vijayabahu I to link his reign with the glories of the…
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Anuradhapura
Beyond the main Abhayagiri site are the scattered ruins of the western monasteries, set up by ascetic monks. With a bike you can track down some of these…
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Anuradhapura
Nuwara Wewa, on the east side of the city, is the largest tank in Anuradhapura, covering about 12 sq km. It was built around 20 BC and is well away from…
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Anuradhapura
In the Royal Palace area you can also find the Dalada Maligawa. The central relic chamber of this ruined temple may have been the first Temple of the…
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Anuradhapura
Most tourists ignore this 2000-year-old stupa, but legend says it holds the cremated remains of King Dutugemunu (r 161–137 BC). It's now mostly used by…
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Anuradhapura
The 160-hectare Tissa Wewa is the southern tank in the old city. The dirt road around the lake makes for a nice bike ride. It's easily accessed from the…
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Anuradhapura
A little south of the Jetavanarama Dagoba, on the other side of the road, there is a stone railing built in imitation of a log wall. It encloses a site…
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Anuradhapura
The Mahapali refectory, or alms hall, is notable mainly for its immense trough (nearly 3m long and 2m wide) that the lay followers filled with rice for…
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Anuradhapura
A short distance north of the Archaeological Museum is this dusty museum with mildly interesting exhibits of country life in Sri Lanka’s North Central…
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Anuradhapura
The oldest tank in Anuradhapura, probably dating from around the 4th century BC, is the 120-hectare Basawak Kulama (the Tamil word for tank is kulam).
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Anuradhapura
To the south of the Ratnaprasada is this whitewashed 1st-century-BC dagoba.
