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…
Must-see attractions in The Ancient Cities
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…
The Ancient Cities
At an even higher elevation (309m) than the Mahaseya Dagoba is the little-visited and modest Et Vihara (literally, ‘Elephant Monastery’) stupa, which…
Polonnaruwa
A track to the left from the northern stretch of road leads to unusual Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond), nearly 8m in diameter, which has five concentric,…
Polonnaruwa
Just outside the southeast corner of the palace grounds, the Bathing Pool (Kumara Pokuna) has a central lotus island and two of its crocodile-mouth spouts…
Polonnaruwa
Also known as the Parakramabahu Vihara, Pabula Vihara is a typical dagoba from the period of Parakramabahu I. This brick stupa is the third-largest dagoba…
The Ancient Cities
On the southwest outskirts of Mihintale is the lovely Kaludiya Pokuna, an artificial pool that features a rock-carved bathhouse and the ruins of a small…
Polonnaruwa
Parakramabahu I’s Audience Hall is notable for the frieze of elephants, each of which is in a different pose. There are fine lions at the top of the steps.
The Ancient Cities
With an attractive, shady garden, this spice specialist runs informative tours and has a cafe for snacks and drinks. Around 15km north of Matale.
The Ancient Cities
To the side of the Mahaseya Dagoba is this older, smaller brick dagoba, one of the oldest in Sri Lanka and yet largely ignored by visitors.
Polonnaruwa
A shrine for the tooth relic, the Atadage is the only surviving structure in Polonnaruwa dating from the reign of Vijayabahu I.
The Ancient Cities
To the side of the Ambasthale Dagoba is a flight of rock-carved steps leading to this large white sitting-Buddha statue.
Polonnaruwa
This water tank next to the EKHO Lake House has a stepped entrance and is fed from the nearby Topa Wewa.
Polonnaruwa
This is where you will have your Polonnaruwa ticket checked, before entering the main site.
Anuradhapura
To the south of the Ratnaprasada is this whitewashed 1st-century-BC dagoba.
The Ancient Cities
This South Indian style temple consists of an entrance hall connected to a taller shikara (holy image sanctuary), with a courtyard for circumambulations…
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…
The Ancient Cities
The remains of a 9th-century hospital sit a stone's throw from the site museum. The hospital consisted of a number of cells. A bat oruwa (large stone…
Polonnaruwa
Standing nearly 4m high, this statue displays an unusually lifelike human representation, in contrast to the normally idealised or stylised Buddha figures…
The Ancient Cities
About 85km south of Anuradhapura and 25km northwest of Kurunegala, where the Puttalam and Anuradhapura roads meet, is this Kandyan-style temple, which is…
The Ancient Cities
On the road leading to Old Rd, west of the site proper, are the remains of a monastery enclosed in the ruins of a stone wall. Visible here are two dagobas…
The Ancient Cities
On the same level as the relic house, this hall, also known as the convocation hall, is where monks met to discuss matters of common interest. The raised…
Dambulla
At the foot of the cave temples hill stands this modern temple, a kitschy structure and Buddhist museum completed in 2000 using Japanese donations. On top…
Dambulla
The English-language displays here are a good primer on Sri Lankan wall art – from cave paintings to 18th-century frescoes – but the poor reproductions…
Anuradhapura
South of the Isurumuniya Vihara are the faint remains of the Vessagiriya cave monastery, a series of evocative, gravity-defying boulder overhangs etched…
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…
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…
The Ancient Cities
A path leads downhill from the back of the relic house courtyard, northeast of the Ambasthale Dagoba, for 10 minutes to a cave where there is a large flat…
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…
The Ancient Cities
The bodhi tree to the left of the steps leading to the Mahaseya Dagoba is said to be one of the oldest surviving trees in Sri Lanka. The tree is…
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…
The Ancient Cities
This tiny museum on the main road next to the turn-off to the ruins has a modest collection of objects recovered from the Panduwasnuwara site, including…
The Ancient Cities
In a series of flights, 1843 ancient granite slab steps lead majestically up the hillside, passing the occasional rock inscription and side trail. The…
Polonnaruwa
Set on a natural ridge, this was the monastery’s convocation hall, where monks met fortnightly. This building features a fine mandapaya (raised platform…
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…
The Ancient Cities
This statue of king Devanampiya Tissa wearing traditional dress, situated next to the Ambasthale Dagoba, marks the spot where he met and was converted by…
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…
Polonnaruwa
This 12th-century memorial slab records the oath taken by the Velaikkara royal guards to protect the Buddha tooth relic after an earlier rebellion was…
