Special Places

The ancient city of Anuradhapura is where Buddhism has prevailed from its inception to the current period. On religious days, the city is filled with devotees who travel from all across the Island to pay homage to the various religious sites within the ancient city by first cleansing themselves in the manmade lake and then offering flowers and prayers to the Gods. On such days, the city can be a busy place but this is a part of the wonderful experience of witnessing Buddhism through a living ancient city.

Anuradhapura is an ancient historical city comprising of religious places of worship and Buddhist shrines constructed by the past Kings of Sri Lanka. The chronicle Mahavamsa affirms that the first human settlement in the form of a village was setup in Anuradhapura by Anuradha, a member of the Aryan legion headed by prince Vijaya who migrated from India in the 6th century. B.C. Over a period of time, the village was transformed into a city and subsequently became the capital of Sri Lanka, ruled by King Pandukabhaya in 4th century B.C. Following him, Anuradhapura was ruled by several successions of Sri Lankan and occasionally Indian Kings where it earned its place as the most important of royal capitals in Sri Lanka flourishing for more than a thousand years before being abandoned following an invasion in 993 AD.

You will see the Ruwanwelisaya Stupa, the Isurumuniya Temple, remains from palaces, temples, monasteries, ceremonial baths and the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, the holy Bo-tree. This tree was grown from a sapling of the very tree under which more than 2500 years ago the Buddha found enlightenment.Anuradhapura is a UNESCO listed world heritage site.

The beautiful Dambulla Cave Temple, the largest cave monastery in the country with a history going back the 1st century BC. Dambulla is famous for its rock paintings and is among the best preserved monastic temple cave complexes in Sri Lanka. There are about 150 Buddha statues with over 2000 square metres of painted walls and ceilings within a complex of five separate caves which also includes some Hindu deities.

Dambulla’s origins as a place of worship dates back to the reign of King Valagamba in the 1st century BC, who took refuge in these caves when driven out of Anuradhapura by Chola invaders. Once he regained the throne, the king had the interior of the caves transformed in to magnificent rock temples. More paintings and statues were added over time by later kings. One of the most notable modifications was made by King Nissanka Malla, who had the caves’ interiors gilded giving it the name ‘Ran Giri’ or ‘Golden Rock’ Temple.

Enjoy a walk through this beautiful garden that was originally the pleasure gardens for Royalty before the arrival of the British.The Royal Botanical Gardens is the largest of Sri Lanka’s botanical gardens with over 4,000 different species of plants and is regarded among the finest in Asia. The origins of the Botanical Gardens date to 1371 when King Wikramabahu III took to the throne and kept his court at Peradeniya near the Mahaweli, where the gardens were reserved exclusively for Kandyan Royalty.

The highlights include the Orchid collection, an avenue of Royal Palm Trees and a Javan Fig Tree on the great lawn covering 2500 square kilometres. In addition to a multitude of flowering plants, there is also an expansive collection of medicinal plants and spices which can be seen during a stroll across the gardens.

Peradeniya is located in the outskirts of Kandy about a 30 min drive away from the city centre and is best visited in the early mornings or late afternoons.

Journey to the breath-taking mountainous region of Nuwara-Eliya. It is considered to be the most important location for tea production in the island. Places of interest include the golf course, trout streams, Victoria Park, and boating or fishing on Lake Gregory. Victoria Park is an attractive and well-used oasis. It is popular with birdwatchers at quieter times because of the good opportunities for seeing species, particularly the Indian blue robin, pied thrush or scaly thrush lurking in the denser undergrowth. The Kashmir flycatcher is another attractive bird species in the park.

Galway’s Land Bird Sanctuary, close to Lake Gregory, is an area of montane forest a few kilometers east of the town. Covering an area of 0.6 km2 it is home to many bird and mammal species endemic to Sri-Lanka, including wild boar and barking deer

Head off to the tea plantation to watch the tea pluckers pick two leaves and a bud with deft hands. You will get the chance to pick the tea yourself. Thereafter head off to the tea factory where the all-important conversion to “made” black tea happens. The machinery used is of very traditional British design. The process is a very artisanal one, unchanged for a century. The tour ends with a tasting of different grades of this great brew.

The journey is filled with forests, hills and valleys, waterfalls and tea plantations. Enjoy the ride as your train climbs up into the hill country where the weather is cold and the air is fresh.

Little Adam’s Peak Although this climb is relatively easy, the views from the top of Little Adam’s Peak are sensational. Begin the climb with a gentle stroll through a sloping tea field, passing endless neat rows of terraced tea plants, before ascending a short stretch of winding steps up to the top of the peak. From the top, there is a spectacular panorama featuring Ella Rock, rolling tea fields and the Ella gap, a deep gorge that leads all the way down to the southern valleys. On a clear day, you can see all the way to the south coast with the ocean glimmering on the horizon.

Referred to as ‘The Lion Rock’ by locals, Sigiriya became the capital during the reign of King Kashyapa in the 4th century A.D. After slaying his own father, King Dhatusena of Anuradhapura to take the throne and fearing a retaliatory attack from the rightful heir Moggallana who fled to neighbouring India, the King constructed his royal palace on the summit of this 200-metre-high rock with a fortress for his own protection. Walk through the meticulously landscaped Royal Gardens and ascend towards the summit where only ruins of the royal palace now remain.

A visit to the fresco gallery with its ancient paintings of the King’s maids in waiting and the Mirror Wall with ancient transcripts that closely match the modern day Sinhalese language, should also not be missed. In 495 A.D, Moggallana returned from his exile and defeated the King re-instating Anuradhapura as the capital. Sigiriya was then used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century prior to being mysteriously abandoned.

Known as the second most ancient kingdom of Sri Lanka, Polonnaruwa is an ancient site containing the archaeological remains of ancient structures of governance, temples and statues that reflect the great works of the ancient Kings of Sri Lanka.Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka’s second most ancient kingdom rose to fame as the capital after the decline of Anuradhapura.

Its period of greatness was from the 10th 12th centuries AD. The entire landscape of the region is punctuated by huge man-made reservoirs, veritable inland seas the most famous of which is the Prakrama Samudra or the Sea of Parakrama, larger in size than the Colombo harbour. Also, make a visit to the ancient temples including Royal palace complex and Gal Vihara if time persists

Polonnaruwa is also A UNESCO listed world heritage site.

Referred locally as the Sri Dalada Maligawa, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is the most revered site in the country. The Temple was built in the 16th century AD and is located adjacent to the Royal Palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy and overlooks the expanses of the Kandy lake. Housing the sacred tooth relic of the Lord Buddha, the building has held a significant role in local politics since ancient times, with a belief that whoever holds the relic has the right to govern the country. The sacred tooth was smuggled in to Sri Lanka from India by a princess in the 4th century AD and was initially kept in Anuradhapura and then moved across the country over time before being housed in Kandy.

This sacred temple attracts thousands pilgrims on a daily basis bearing lotus blossoms and frangipani for their offerings which are known as pujas.

Ensure that you dress appropriately, wearing clothes that cover your legs and shoulders and please do remove your shoes before entering the holy temple.

The cultural dance show in Kandy provides an insight into the array of instruments and traditional dance performances that make up the rich cultural heritage of Sri Lanka’s traditional performing arts. These performances are deeply connected to religious rituals, beliefs and even sometimes superstitions. There are many styles of dances including fire walking, fire breathing and devil dancing. The cultural dance performance is one of the most sort after activities in Kandy with a packed audience at most times but it is certainly worth watching.

The performances take place daily at 05:30pm and last for about an hour.

The Seetha Amman Temple is located in the village of Seetha Eliya, which is believed to be the site where Sita was held captive by King Ravana in the story of Ramayana. The beautifully landscaped Hakgala Botanical Gardens were founded by an eminent British botanist, George Henry Kendrick Thwaites in 1861 as an experimental cultivation of Cinchona, a commercial crop thriving at the time. Once after the Tea replaced the Cinchona, it was turned into an experimental Tea cultivation and in 1884 it transformed to a garden.

In the folklores, it says demon King Ravana after abducting Sita, kept her hidden in this area and that this area was offered to Sita as a pleasure garden, the place finds mention in the Ramayana as Ashok Vatika. The area was named as “Sita Eliya” and “Sita Amman Temple” was built on the site.

Ella is a small town in the Badulla District and is approximately 200 kilometres east of Colombo and is situated at an elevation of 1,041 metres above sea level. The area has a rich bio-diversity, dense with numerous varieties of flora and fauna. Take a hike up the Ella Rock, the mini Adams peak and have a glimpse of the Nine Arch Bridge.

Nine Arch Bridge Located in Ella, the Nine Arch Bridge is one of the most iconic bridges in Sri Lanka and is a stunning example of the incredible engineering prowess behind the island’s railway system. First constructed in the 19th century during the British colonial period, Sri Lanka’s railway line remains the easiest and most picturesque way to access the hill country. The Wilpattu National Park

Hiking up Ella Rock is one of the most popular treks to do in Ella, but is also far more strenuous than the relatively easy climb up Little Adam’s Peak. The summit is 3,300m above sea level, and 1,000m higher than Ella town, and the views from the top are astonishing. The entire trek takes about 4-5 hours. Walk along the railway lines for about half an hour, accompanied by the local monkeys swinging through the trees, and then begin the ascent up the slope through fields of chilli, tomato, lemon grass and avocado, and look out for eucalyptus, banana and jack fruit trees. You also pass a large tea plantation and fascinating tropical plants like the Venus fly trap.

Jaffna is the cultural town of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka. Jaffna District, the northernmost region of the Island of Sri Lanka, is one of the oldest habitation sites in Lower South Asia, populated by Tamil speaking people. Jaffna is situated within ten degrees of latitude to the north of the equator. It is in close proximity to the sub-continent of India and separated from it by the Palk Strait and the Bay of Bengal.

By the coast, star-shaped Jaffna Fort was built by the Portuguese in the 17th century and later occupied by the Dutch and British. Jaffna Public Library is a symbol of the city’s post-war regeneration. Jaffna Archaeological Museum has Dutch cannons and pre-colonial artifacts.