Travel Tips

"Oh! Great King, the birds of the air & the beasts have an equal right to live & move about in any part of this land as thou. The lands belongs to the peoples & all other beings & thou art only the guardian of it" - read the board near the parking lot.  This teaching was given by Mahinda to the king Devanampiyatissa.  This is believed to be the place where Mahinda (son of Ashoka) met the Sri Lankan king Devanampiyatissa and later on went on to initiate him to Buddhism. A flight of 1840 steps take you to the top of the mountain where there are a number of important places. The steps make for a fairly easy climb. Midway to the top, you can see remains of the kitchen area which was used to feed the monks that stayed here. There are 2 stones here which have the rules and regulations of the monastery engraved on them. English translation put up by the tourist department is very useful and makes for interesting reading. Once you reach the top, you can visit...

Next stop on our tour was Anuradhapura. This was the first capital of Sri Lanka and has been declared as a UNESCO world heritage site. It remained the capital of Sri Lanka for a period of 13 centuries. It was abandoned for Pollonurawa, when in was destroyed in an invasion by the Chola king Rajaraja. We stayed at the Palm Garden Village Resort. Have put up a review of the hotel here Anuradhapura has several shrines/stupas of historic importance A day can be easily spent to see these places. Jetavanarama : Built in 2 century AD, this is considered the largest stupa in the world. It is believed that a part of the belt worn by Buddha is enshrined here. At the time of its construction it was the 3rd tallest structure in the world behind the pyramids of Egypt. Maha Bodhi Tree : A branch of the Bodhi tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment was brought to Sri Lanka by Sanghamitra, daughter of Emperor Ashoka. Abhayagiri:  When Indian princes attacked Anuradhapura, the King ...