Explore Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura, located in the North-Central plains of the country, is the site of one of the largest ancient monastic city ruins of the dynastic Sinhala civilizations scattered around Sri Lanka, and had been the royal capital to 113 successive kings (and four queens!) for over a millennium.
At its height it was home to thousands of monks with an astounding population of nearly two million. Its Buddhist culture and architectural achievements made it famous across Asia, while even today the sheer scale of its surviving ruins and stupas is breathtaking.
However, even considering the amazing ancient structures, the freedom of worship and the world’s first hospitals, this civilisations most impressive achievement was in its irrigation system! The man-made tanks and reservoirs (or wewa) built to catch the monsoon rains and to supply water to the paddy fields are still in use today.
In 1073 AD Anuradhapura was abandoned and forgotten and Polonnarua became the new capital. Finally in the 19th century, British explorers rediscovered the “lost city” with its magnificent dagobas, palaces, temples and shrines.
To Do In and Around Anuradhapura:
- Join a daytime Safari to Minneriya National Park, declared a biodiversity hotspot and conservation area in 1997 and centred around the catchment areas of the Minneriya Dam, another example of ancient irrigation engineering by our very advanced ancestors.
- Pay homage to the Sri Maha Bodhi, possibly the oldest tree in the world, said to be a sapling of the original tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment
- See the 1,600 pillars of the Brazen Palace, all that remains of a once-magnificent building that housed the Sri Maha Bodhi tree and said to have once formed part of a much larger temple complex.
- Visit the Anuradhapura Museum and Folk Museum to see recovered and restored artifacts from ancient Sri Lanka
