Sights in The Ancient Cities
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Sri Maha Bodhi
The Sri Maha Bodhi, the sacred bodhi tree, is central to Anuradhapura in both a spiritual and physical sense. The huge tree has grown from a cutting brought from Bodhgaya in India by the Princess Sangamitta, sister of Mahinda (who introduced the Buddha's teachings to Sri Lanka), so it has a connection to the very basis of the Sinhalese religion.
This sacred tree serves as a reminder of the force that inspired the creation of all the great buildings at Anuradhapura, and is within walking distance of many of the most interesting monuments. The whole area around the Sri Maha Bodhi, the Brazen Palace and Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba was once probably part of the Maha Vihara (Great Te…
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Royal Rock Temple
The beautiful Royal Rock Temple sits 100m to 150m above the road in the southern part of Dambulla. The hike up to the temples begins along a vast, sloping rock face with steps in some places. The ticket office is at the gate near the monstrous Golden Temple, and your receipt is checked at the entrance at the base of the hill. Cultural Triangle tickets are not valid here. Photography is allowed inside the caves, but you’re not allowed to photograph people. There are superb views over the surrounding countryside from the level of the caves; Sigiriya is clearly visible.
The caves’ history as a place of worship is thought to date from around the 1st century BC, when King Va…
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Quadrangle
Only a short stroll north of the royal palace ruins, the area known as the quadrangle is literally that - a compact group of fascinating ruins in a raised-up area bounded by a wall. It's the most concentrated collection of buildings you'll find in the ancient cities. As well as the following ruins, there's a recumbent image house, chapter house, Bodhisattva shrine and bodhi tree shrine.
In the southeast of the quadrangle, the vatadage is typical of its kind. Its outermost terrace is 18m in diameter and the second terrace has four entrances flanked by particularly fine guardstones. The moonstone at the northern entrance is reckoned to be the finest in Polonnaruwa, although…
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Aluvihara
If the idea of a monastery built from a sheer rock wall sounds intriguing, make sure to pull off the road 3km north of Matale for a look at Aluvihara. This unique series of monastic caves are picturesquely situated among rocks that have fallen from the mountains high above the valley. Legend has it that a giant used three of the rocks as a base for his cooking pot, and the name Aluvihara (Ash Monastery) refers to the ashes from the cooking fire.
The first cave you come to contains a 10m reclining Buddha and impressive lotus-pattern murals on the ceiling. Another is filled with cartoon-like murals of the realms of hell – if you’re considering straying from the straight and…
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Ridi Vihara
Literally the ‘Silver Temple’, Ridi Vihara is so named because it was here that silver ore was discovered in the 2nd century BC. Although not on the beaten track, it’s well worth a visit to see its wonderful frescoes and the unusual Dutch (Delft) tiles in the main cave.
The main attraction here is the golden statue in the main cave, called the Pahala Vihara (Lower Temple). Also within the Pahala Vihara is a 9m recumbent Buddha that rests on a platform decorated with a series of blue-and-white tiles, which were a gift from the Dutch consul. The tiles depict scenes from the Bible, including Adam and Eve being banished from the Garden of Eden and the transfiguration of…
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Yapahuwa
This rock fortress rising 100m from the surrounding plain is quite impressive in its own right. The granite outcropping of Yapahuwa (pronounced yaa-pow-a), also known as Fire Rock, was used in the early 13th century as a defensible refuge against the invading South Indian armies. Between 1272 and 1284, King Bhuvanekabahu I used the rock as his capital and kept Sri Lanka’s sacred Buddha tooth relic here. Indian invaders from the Pandavan dynasty captured Yapahuwa in 1284 and carried the tooth relic to South India, only for it to be recovered in 1288 by King Parakramabahu I.
Yapahuwa’s steep ornamental staircase, which led up to the ledge holding the tooth temple, is one …
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Ritigala
Deep inside the Ritigala Strict Nature Reserve, off the Anuradhapura–Habarana road, are the partially restored ruinsof an extensive monastic and cave complex. The ruins lie on a hill, which at 766m isn’t exactly high, but is nevertheless a striking feature in the flat, dry landscape surrounding it. The 24-hectare site is isolated and almost deserted. The site is included in the Cultural Triangle round ticket; otherwise, individual tickets cost Rs 1800/1000 (adult/child).
The true meaning of the name Ritigala remains unclear – gala means ‘rock’ in Sinhala, but riti may come from the Pali arittha, meaning ‘safety’. Thus Ritigala was probably a place of refuge, inc…
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Gal Vihara
Gal Vihara is a group of beautiful Buddha images that probably marks the high point of Sinhalese rock carving. They are part of Parakramabahu's northern monastery. The Gal Vihara consists of four separate images, all cut from one long slab of granite. At one time each was enshrined within a separate enclosure. You can clearly see the sockets cut into the rock behind the standing image, into which wooden beams would have been inserted.
The standing Buddha is 7m tall and is said to be the finest of the series. The unusual position of the arms and sorrowful facial expression led to the theory that it was an image of the Buddha's disciple Ananda, grieving for his master's dep…
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Ratnaprasada
Follow the loop road above Vata Mandana Rd and you will find the finest guardstones in Anuradhapura. Dating from the 8th century, they depict a cobra king, and demonstrate the final refinement of guardstone design. You can see examples of much earlier guardstone design at the Mirisavatiya Dagoba.
In the 8th century a new order of tapovana (ascetic) monks settled in these western fringes of the city, among the lowest castes, the rubbish dumps and the burial places. These western monasteries were simple but grand structures of stone. Ornamentation was saved for toilets and urinals, now displayed at the Archaeology Museum. The monks of Ratnaprasada (Gem Palace) monastery gav…
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Kantaka Chetiya
At the first landing of the Stairway, on Mihintale, a small flight of steps leads to this partly ruined dagoba off to the right. It is 12m high (originally it was higher than 30m) and 130m around at its base. A Brahmi inscription found nearby records donations for the dagoba. While exactly who built it is open to conjecture, Devanampiya Tissa (r 247–207 BC) had 68 cave monasteries built, and the dagoba would have been constructed near these. King Laji Tissa (r 59–50 BC) enlarged it. So the dagoba was built sometime in between, and is certainly one of the oldest at Mihintale. It is noteworthy for its friezes. Four stone flower altars stand at each of the cardinal points, a…
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Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba
Behind the Folk Museum, this fine white dagoba is guarded by a wall with a frieze of hundreds of elephants standing shoulder to shoulder. Apart from a few beside the western entrance, most are modern replacements for the originals from 140 BC.
This dagoba is said to be King Dutugemunu’s finest construction, but he didn’t live to see its completion. However, as he lay on his deathbed, a false bamboo-and-cloth finish was placed around the dagoba so that Dutugemunu’s final sight could be of his ‘completed’ masterpiece. Today, after incurring much damage from invading Indian forces, it rises 55m, considerably less than its original height; nor is its form the same as the earl…
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Southern Ruins
The small southern group of ruins is close to the compound of top-end hotels. By bicycle it's a pleasant ride along the bund of the Topa Wewa (Topa Tank).
Also known as the library dagoba, the Potgul Vihara is an unusual structure. A thick-walled, hollow, dagoba-like building, it is thought to have been used to store sacred books. It's effectively a circular gedige, and four smaller solid dagobas arranged around this central dome form the popular Sinhalese quincunx arrangement of five objects in the shape of a rectangle - one at each corner and one in the middle.
Another interesting structure in the southern group is the statue at the northern end. Standing nearly 4m high,…
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Thuparama Dagoba
In a beautiful woodland setting north of the Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba, the Thuparama Dagoba is the oldest dagoba in Sri Lanka – indeed, probably the oldest visible dagoba in the world. It was constructed by Devanampiya Tissa in the 3rd century BC and is said to contain the right collarbone of the Buddha. Its ‘heap-of-paddy-rice’ shape was restored in 1862 in a more conventional bell shape and to a height of 19m.
The surrounding vatadage’s slender, capital-topped pillars, perhaps the dagoba’s most unique feature, enclose the structure in four concentric circles. Impressions on the dagoba pediments indicate the pillars originally numbered 176, of which 41 still stand.…
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Abhayagiri Dagoba
The huge Abhayagiri Dagoba (confused by some books and maps with the Jetavanarama), created in the 1st or 2nd century BC, was the centrepiece of a monastery of 5000 monks. The name means ‘Hill of Protection’ or ‘Fearless Hill’ (though some local guides mistakenly claim ‘Giri’ was the name of a local Jain monk). The monastery was part of the ‘School of the Secret Forest’, a heretical sect that studied both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism. Chinese traveller Faxian (also spelt Fa Hsien) visited in AD 412.
The dagoba was probably rebuilt several times to reach its peak 75m height. It has some interesting bas-reliefs, including one near the western stairway of …
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Archaeological Museum
Anuradhapura’s Archaeological Museum also houses a ticket office for the ancient city. It has a restored relic chamber, as found during the excavation of the Kantaka Chetiya dagoba at nearby Mihintale, and a large-scale model of Thuparama Dagoba’s vatadage as it might have been if a wooden roof (for which there is no physical or epigraphic evidence) had existed.
In the museum’s grounds are the carved squatting plates from Anuradhapura’s western monasteries, whose monks had forsaken the luxurious monasteries of their more worldly brothers. To show their contempt for the effete, luxury-loving monks, the monks of the western monasteries carved beautiful stone squat-style…
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Jetavanarama Dagoba
The Jetavanarama Dagoba’s massive dome rises from a clearing back towards the Sri Maha Bodhi. Built in the 3rd century by Mahasena, it may have originally stood over 100m high, but today is about 70m. This was a similar height to the Abhayagiri, with which it is sometimes confused. When it was built it was the third-tallest monument in the world, the first two being Egyptian pyramids. A British guidebook from the early 1900s calculated that there were enough bricks in the dagoba’s brick core to make a 3m-high wall stretching from London to Edinburgh.
Behind it stand the ruins of a monastery that housed 3000 monks. One building has door jambs over 8m high still standin…
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Royal Palace Group
This group of buildings dates from the reign of Parakramabahu I. Parakramabahu's Royal Palace was a magnificent structure measuring 31m by 13m, and is said to have had seven storeys. The 3m-thick walls have holes to receive the floor beams for two higher floors, but if there were another four levels, these must have been made of wood. The roof in this main hall, which had 50 rooms in all, was supported by 30 columns.
Parakramabahu's Audience Hall is notable for the frieze of elephants, each of which is in a different position. There are fine lions at the top of the steps.
In the southeast corner of the palace grounds, the Bathing Pool (Kumara Pokuna) still has two of its c…
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Mahaseya Dagoba
A stone pathway to the southwest of the Ambasthale Dagoba leads up to a higher dagoba (arguably the largest at Mihintale), thought to have been built to house relics of Mahinda. The bodhi tree to the left of the base of the steps is said to be one of the oldest surviving ones. From here there is a view over the lakes and trees to Anuradhapura, a horizon studded with the domes and spikes of all the massive dagobas. A small temple at the foot of the dagoba has a reclining Buddha and Technicolor modern frescoes – donations are requested. A room at the side is a devale (a complex designed for worshipping a Hindu or local Sri Lankan deity) with statues of major gods – Ganesh, …
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Ambasthale Dagoba
The final steep stairway of Mihintale hill, lined with frangipani trees, leads to the place where Mahinda and King Devanampiya met. The Ambasthale Dagoba is built over the spot where Mahinda stood. Nearby stands a statue of the king in the place where he stood. On the opposite side of the dagoba from the statue is a cloister and behind that, a large, white sitting Buddha statue. Stone pillars surround the dagoba and may once have been used to hold offerings (or if you believe the local theory, to support a wooden roof). You must remove your shoes and hat, and umbrellas aren’t allowed.
The name Ambasthale means ‘Mango Tree’ and refers to a riddle that Mahinda used to tes…
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Isurumuniya Vihara
This rock temple, dating from the reign of Devanampiya Tissa (r 247–207 BC), has some very fine carvings. One or two of these (including one of elephants playfully splashing water) remain in their original place on the rock face beside a square pool fed from the Tissa Wewa, but most of them have been moved into a small museum within the temple. Best known of the sculptures is the ‘lovers’, which dates from around the 5th century AD and is built in the artistic style of the Indian Gupta dynasty of the 4th and 5th centuries.
South of the Isurumuniya Vihara are extensive remains of the Vessagiriya cave monastery complex, which dates from much the same time.
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Mirisavatiya Dagoba
Mirisavatiya Dagoba is one of three very interesting sites that can be visited in a stroll or ride along the banks of the Tissa Wewa. This huge dagoba, the first built by Dutugemunu after he captured the city, is across the road from the Tissawewa Rest House. The story goes that Dutugemunu went to bathe in the tank, leaving his ornate sceptre implanted in the bank. When he emerged he found his sceptre, which contained a relic of the Buddha, impossible to pull out. Taking this as an auspicious sign, he had the dagoba built. To its northeast was yet another monks’ refectory, complete with the usual huge stone troughs into which the faithful poured boiled rice.
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Archaeological Museum
The Archaeological Museum is first class. It’s designed so that you walk from one end to the other, passing through a series of rooms, each dedicated to a particular theme: the citadel, the outer city, the monastery area and the periphery, and Hindu monuments. The latter room contains a wonderful selection of bronzes. Of particular interest are the scale models of buildings, including the vatadage (circular relic house), which show how they might have looked in their heyday – if you follow the theory that they once had wooden roofs. To enter, you’ll need a current round ticket or a one-day ticket. It’s worth visiting.
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Northern Ruins
You will need a bicycle or other transport to comfortably explore these very spread-out ruins, which are all north of the city wall. They include the Gal Vihara, probably the most famous and beautiful group of Buddha images in Sri Lanka, and the Alahana Pirivena monastic group, which is the subject of a Cultural Triangle restoration project. The Alahana Pirivena group consists of the Rankot Vihara, Lankatilaka, Kiri Vihara, Buddha Seema Prasada and the other structures around them.
The name of the group means 'crematory college', since it stood in the royal cremation grounds established by Parakramabahu.
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Tivanka Image House
Polonnaruwa's northern road ends at Tivanka Image House. This spectacular image house is, like the Lotus Pond, one of the few surviving structures of the Jetavanarama monastery. Its name means 'thrice bent', and refers to the fact that the Buddha image within is in a three-curve position normally reserved for female statues.
The building is notable for the carvings of energetic dwarfs cavorting around the outside, and for the fine frescoes within - the only Polonnaruwa murals to have survived. Some of these date from a later attempt by Parakramabahu III to restore Polonnaruwa, but others are much older.
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Kuttam Pokuna
The swimming pool–like Twin Ponds, the finest bathing tanks in Anuradhapura, are east of Sanghamitta Mawatha. They were likely used by monks from the monastery attached to Abhayagiri Dagoba. Although they are referred to as twins, the southern pond, which is 28m in length, is smaller than the 40m-long northern pond. Water entered the larger pond through the mouth of a makara (mythical multispecies beast) and then flowed to the smaller pond through an underground pipe. Note the five-headed cobra figure close to the makara and the water-filter system at the northwestern end of the ponds.
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