Cultural Triangle in a week

Hi

I have answered for your pervious post as well No need to have service of tour agency for visiting around cultural triangle, drive further up to sigiriya /habarana form kandy will take about 2-3 hours then having base at above place will be easy access to the other attraction within the cultural triangle .
Polonnaruwa – 2-3 hours
Ritigala - 30 minute
Sigiriya - 30 minute
Anuradapura – 3 -4 hours
Dambulla - 30 minute

That will be easier if you could hire the local drive for 3 days can cover all these places at cultural triangle. buy a round ticket that will cost you 50 us$ per person for triangle ticket (except entrance for dambulla cve).

Best regard,

mawa

The ‘Cultural Triangle’ is the area roughly between Sigiriya to the south, Anuradhapura to the north west and Polonnaruwa to the east. It was the cradle of the ancient irrigation civilisation of Sri Lanka that flourished 2500 years ago.

Anuradhapura is the crowning glory of Sri Lanka. It was a city of 2 million inhabitants by 200BC and the capital in the period when the architectural, artistic and engineering skills of the Sinhalese are generally agreed to have reached their zenith. Some of the monuments are mind boggling in size – the great Jetavana Dagoba is bigger than all but two of the great pyramids at Giza and is the largest brick structure ever constructed, anywhere in the world. The Buddhist sculpture here is reckoned to be among the Buddhist world’s finest and in the words of our favourite Anuradhapura guide, Mr Edirisinghe: “how did they do that?”. Anuradhapura is the least accessible for the casual tourist. The ruins are scattered and many are in a bad state. Information is patchy to say the least. A knowledgeable guide is essential and one really needs 6 hours at least to fully grasp the scale and scope of this ancient city. If you put the effort in – this is the most rewarding site – but the most hard work.

Sigiriya is an enormous rock, jutting out from the flat landscape all around. Around 1500 years ago a renegade prince built a pleasure palace on the top. The magnificence of the achievement and the spectacular nature of the rock itself led to Sigiriya being dubbed ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World’. It is best to visit in the early morning or late afternoon when the heat is least fierce. The climb is stiff. It only needs a few hours and really is a ‘must visit’.

Polonnaruwa, the second major capital, flourished for a couple of hundred years, 1000 years ago. The ruins are far more intact and compact than those at Anuradhapura and are perhaps more accessible to the casual visitor. While the scale of the achievement was not quite on the scale of that which was reached 1000 years before – the ruins are magnificent and distinctive in style. The range of architectural styles is amazing and the sheer brilliance of the artistry at Gal Vihara must be seen to be believed. A visit of round 3 or so hours will be enough, though allow some time to visit the excellent museum here also.

There are very many other historical sites of interest in the area. On the road from Kandy, ask your driver to stop off at Nalanda, a fascinating little temple just off the main road. The Mahayana influence is marked here – it more resembles south Indian Hindu temples than anything else in Sri Lanka.

In Dambulla, the beautiful cave paintings and the plethora of Buddhas in different meditation positions are well worth a visit and yet another World Heritage Site. Further a-field, the 40 foot Standing Buddha at Aukana is reckoned to be one of the finest Buddhas in the world. The atmospheric ancient forest monastery of Ritigala is completely off the beaten tourist track and a wonderfully evocative place to visit. Mihintale, near Anuradhapura was the place where the Buddha’s disciple, Mahinda, preached the first Buddhist sermon and converted Sri Lanka to Buddhism. It can be visited alongside Anuradhapura. Yapahuwa is another rock fortress with two wonderful stone lions and a staircase that leads upwards with Mayan like steepness. One of Experience Sri Lanka’s favourites, it is a fascinating little detour and can be visited on route from this area to the airport, Negombo or Colombo, or if you are staying in the Puttalam district.

There are many more temples, monasteries and Buddhist sculptures in the area. Your guidebook will have details or ask your driver. Look out for the ‘tanks’ – irrigation reservoirs that were built all over this dry region. These incredible engineering achievements made inhabitation possible 2500 years ago and still play a crucial role in the local economy and life. These tanks made possible a city of 2 million people in the days when London was a collection of mud huts.

A last thought on the area: although the sites in Mexico and in Egypt may match those in Sri Lanka in their size and scale, the civilisations that produced them have long since vanished. In Sri Lanka, people still carry out similar rites at many of the same places and at the same times as they did 2500 years ago. This area is something of a living history lesson

The National Parks.

There are several national parks in this region. It is a beautiful area in any case and if you are lucky you may see elephants out in the wild. You will certainly see monkeys and birds of all descriptions; snakes, lizards and various other fauna. For a safari trip, try one or two of the following:

Wilpattu

25km to the west of Anuradhapura, Wilpattu is a vast untamed wilderness. It reopened in March 2003, after 16 years closure due to the war. The park is characterised by its natural reservoirs, or villus, that serve as watering holes for the wildlife and dense jungle scrublands, changing in type as you near the sea. There is a super abundance of birds, especially during the migration season – December though to March. Large mammals which can be seen include sloth Bears, elephants and leopards. During the dry months of July, August and September you stand a wonderful chance of being able to observe the leopard from up close. Elephants are more elusive however, since they tend to congregate in parts of this vast park, still not open to visitors. A great afternoon trip for the nature enthusiast – though for the full experience it is best to go for an entire day.

Minneriya

A great short safari in the heart of the Cultural Triangle. It is no wilderness, but it is a beautiful drive nonetheless. The main attraction is the elephant – which can be seen in their hundreds during the dry period between June and October. Late August and early September sees the phenomenon known as The Gathering – the largest natural grouping of Asian elephants that occurs anywhere. The elephants congregate around the large Minneriya Tank when water becomes scarce elsewhere. For observing elephants in their natural habitat, we recommend this short afternoon safari over the elephant orphanage at Pinnawela, near Kandy. Nearby Kandulla is a similar experience. Created only in 2002 as an elephant corridor, linking Minneriya and Wasgomuwa, the centrepiece is also a lake where elephants congregate, especially in the dry season. Kandulla is especially beautiful in the early morning.

Wasgamuwa

One of Sri Lanka’s most unspoilt and least visited parks, Wasgomuwa is enclosed on both sides by two large rivers, the Mahaweli Ganga and the Amban Ganga. This offers a degree of protection to the animals which include elephants, leopards, spotted deer, wild buffalo, fishing cats and 143 species of birds. The scenery is diverse; covering both dry and evergreen forest, rivers, hills and open plains. You need a day to do justice to the size of the park, but it also makes for a great afternoon safari.

Edited by: docbrown

Hi there,

We travelled for 2 weeks around SL independently and found it no trouble at all.

From Colombo we travelled up the main road to Dambulla and stayed at Habarana (FAB PLACE!) for a few days while we took trips out to Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya etc and then on to Kandy and the hills before hitting the coast. What we did have though was a driver / guide (way better than trying to drive in SL yourself trust me!)..... there are loads around SL so make sure you choose a good one. Our guide was incredibly good value... really knowledgeable and incredibly helpful - and most importantly there when you needed him (his email is ndsilva67@yahoo.com). If you want more info, drop me a line and I'll be more than happy to help.

Enjoy your travels

Jon