Must-see attractions in Anuradhapura

  • Abhayagiri Dagoba stupa, Jetavanaramaya, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka; Shutterstock ID 539498596; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other:
539498596

    Abhayagiri Dagoba

    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…

  • Buddhist stupa Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

    Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba

    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…

  • Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi the oldest living human-planted tree in the world with a known planting date in ancient city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

    Sri Maha Bodhi

    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…

  • Jetavanarama Dagoba

    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…

  • Archaeological Museum

    Anuradhapura

    The old British colonial administration building has recently been renovated and has an interesting collection of artwork, carvings and everyday items…

  • 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…

  • Isurumuniya Vihara

    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…

  • Ratnaprasada

    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…

  • Sandahiru Seya

    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…

  • Thuparama Dagoba

    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…

  • Royal Pleasure Gardens

    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…

  • Kuttam Pokuna

    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…

  • Jetavanarama Museum

    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…

  • Moonstone

    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…

  • Mirisavatiya Dagoba

    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…

  • Abhayagiri Museum

    Anuradhapura

    This museum, south of the Abhayagiri Dagoba, is arguably the most interesting in Anuradhapura and contains a collection of squatting plates, jewellery,…

  • Eth Pokuna

    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…

  • Samadhi Buddha

    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…

  • Kaparamula

    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…

  • Alms Hall

    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…

  • Padhanagara

    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…

  • Nuwara Wewa

    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…

  • Lankarama Dagoba

    Anuradhapura

    To the south of the Ratnaprasada is this whitewashed 1st-century-BC dagoba.

  • Lowamahapaya

    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…

  • Vessagiriya

    Anuradhapura

    South of the Isurumuniya Vihara are the faint remains of the Vessagiriya cave monastery, a series of evocative, gravity-defying boulder overhangs etched…

  • Royal Palace

    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…

  • Dalada Maligawa

    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…

  • Dakkhina Stupa

    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…

  • Tissa Wewa

    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…

  • Folk Museum

    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…

  • Mahapali Refectory

    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…

  • Basawak Kulama

    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).

  • Buddhist Railing

    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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