Anuradhapura. Photo credit: Joseph Clerici, Flick
Modern Anuradhapura consists of two parts - the Old City and New town. The old city is essentially a huge historical park with ancient ruins of city palaces, gardens, Buddhist temples, monasteries and dagobas and stupas. Hotels, guest houses, shops and restaurants are mostly located in the new city.
Set aside at least one full day for the Old City of Anuradhapura
what to go for
Don't miss in Anuradhapura
- Rent a bike to explore the magnificent Old Town of Anuradhapura.
- Watch the beautiful ceremonies near the ancient sacred Bodhi tree, around which the second most sacred temple of Sri Lanka, the Bodhi Tree Temple, was built.
- Don't miss the magnificent dagobas (Buddhist stupas): Ruwanwelisaya, Thuparamaya and Jetawanarama.
- Walk around the grounds of the ancient Abhayagiri monastery located in the northern part of the city and admire the royal gardens and the original architecture of the Isurumuniya temple built into the rock in the south of the city.
- Set aside a day for a trip to Mihintale - one of the most sacred places Sri Lanka.
bodhi tree
The Bodhi tree is perhaps one of the most sacred relics of Buddhism. According to legend, Buddha meditated and attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in the Indian town of Bodg-Khaya, so Bodhi trees are cultivated in many Buddhist monasteries. The original tree has been destroyed. But, again, according to legend, the Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura was grown from a sprout of the original tree brought from India. Years later, a new one was grown from the sprout of the Anuradhapura tree on the site of the original felled tree at Bodg Haya.
Given the lore and history, it is not surprising that the temple built around the Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura is one of the holiest places for the Buddhists of Sri Lanka. It is always crowded here, there are many pilgrims who regularly hold beautiful ceremonies.
Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura. Photo credit: Mario Feierstein, Flickr
Pilgrims to the Bodhi tree. Photo credit: David & Bonnie, Flickr
Dagobahs of Anuradhapura
Dagobahs are ancient Buddhist stupas of the original form, inherent in ancient Sri Lankan architecture. At the base, the dagobas have the form of a huge dome erected on a massive platform, which is crowned with a small pointed tower.
The four most important dagoba of Anuradhapura are: Jetawanarama - the largest dagoba in Sri Lanka, Thuparamaya - the most sacred dagoba of the island, Ruwanwelisaya - a magnificent white dagoba, which is considered the most beautiful dagoba of the island and the island's most atmospheric dagoba - Abhayagiri, located on the territory of the monastery of the same name.
Dagoba Abhayagiri. Photo credit: Chandana Witharanage, Flickr
The rays of the sun after a heavy downpour - Dagoba Thuparamaya. Photo credit: lesterlester1, Flickr
Visit to the old city of Anuradhapura
The cost of visiting the Old City and all the sights is about $ 25, in terms of local currency. Tickets are on sale at the Archaeological Museum. Anuradhapura does not have one main entrance where tickets are bought and / or presented, there is also no wall between the old and new cities. In fact, you can walk around the whole old city and not meet ticket checkers, but still we would recommend not to succumb to the temptation of "free cheese" and still purchase tickets).
inspect Old city best by bike. The alternative is to walk or rent a tuk-tuk. You can rent a bike or tuk-tuk and get a map at any guest house in the city. Set aside a full day to explore the local attractions. Wear clothes that cover your shoulders and knees, take off your shoes where you take off your shoes locals. There are stalls in the park where you can buy food and drinks.
Watch your belongings - local monkeys are still those thieves, they can easily steal a bag, glasses, a camera, and in general everything that lies badly or hangs on a person)
Little inhabitants of Anuradhapura. Photo credit: Nadun Wanniarachchi, Flickr
Anuradhapura. Photo credit: lesterlester1, Flickr
Mihintale
The tiny town of Mihintale, located 12 km from Anuradhapura, is considered the birthplace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. According to legend, here, on the top of the mountain, the fateful meeting of the Indian monk Mahinda, the son of the Indian emperor Ashoka and King Devanampiyatissa, took place, from whose reign Buddhism began to spread on the island.
To climb to the top of Mihintale to the spectacular white dagoba and the white statue of Buddha, you need to overcome 1840 steps. The ascent consists of several levels, along the way you can see the relics and stupas of the island's first Buddhist monastery.
You can get to Mihintale from Anuradhapura by tuk-tuk, bicycle, train or regular minibuses. Set aside a day to travel.
Buddha statue in Anuradhapura. Photo credit: Daniel Kosla, Flickr
Ascent to the top of Mihintale. Photo credit: k.dexter fernando kariyakarawanage, Flickr
Anuradhapura from A to Z: map, hotels, attractions, restaurants, entertainment. Shopping, shops. Photos, videos and reviews about Anuradhapura.
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Anuradhapura is administrative center North Central Province of Sri Lanka and one of ancient cities islands of Ceylon. For a long time, Anaradhapura, located in a strategically important place - at the intersection of two port areas - and hidden in the depths of the jungle, was the capital of the state - until 1017, when the city was seriously destroyed by the invaders from South India and abandoned by the inhabitants.
For almost a thousand years, the city stood in ruins, and only in the 19th century an English hunter accidentally stumbled upon it in the jungle.
Today, Anuradhapura has mostly been restored and is divided into two parts: the Old City, which is a non-residential protected area, and the New City, where the entire population of Anuradhapura lives (about 50,000 people) and there is a tourist area with hotels, restaurants and shops.
The city is quite far from coastline, therefore, tourists to Anuradhapura are attracted primarily by the world-famous monuments of culture and history of Sri Lanka, included in the List world heritage UNESCO.
How to get there
Anuradhapura is located 200 kilometers from the capital of the island - Colombo. You can get to the city by train (there are two railway stations here), as well as by bus in 5 hours (it comes to the bus station in the New Town) or by rented car along the A9 highway in 4 hours.
Search for flights to Colombo city (nearest airport to Anuradhapura)
Transport
Buses and tuk-tuks run around the New City, but the need for them is small - this small area can be easily walked from end to end in half an hour. But the security zone on the other side of the Malvathu-Oya River is very large in area - and you can’t do without a tuk-tuk here. However, in many places of the Old City, the movement of any transport, even tuk-tuks, is prohibited.
Popular hotels in Anuradhapura
Excursions, entertainment and attractions of Anuradhapura
As mentioned above, most tourists come to see the monuments of the Old City. Among them are the so-called dagobas (Buddhist religious buildings designed to store relics) Thumaparama, Ruanveli with the famous stone statues of Buddha, Jetavanarama, which is considered one of the tallest brick structures in ancient world, as well as the statue of Buddha Aukana and the sacred Bodhi tree, considered the oldest known tree, with the Mahabodhi temple built around it. And this is only a small part of the monuments that await travelers in the Old City of Anuradhapura.
Anuradhapura
In the New Town, there are many hotels, restaurants and shops, there is also a market where you can buy souvenirs.
It is worth remembering: although alcohol is sold in tourist-oriented establishments, public drinking of alcoholic beverages in Sri Lanka is not welcome.
- Where to stay: on one of mountain resorts Ceylon, where even in colonial times the British hid from the heat, namely in Kandy or in Nuwara Eliya. In addition, you can stay in the capital of the country
Hello friends. We talked about the ancient first capital of Sri Lanka. But it’s not enough to tell - you always want to know what interesting things you can see and where to look in a new place. This is the old city, which is unusual place. On the one hand, this is an archaeological zone, on the other hand, it is a place of pilgrimage for thousands of Buddhists. Numerous tourists do not lag behind believers. What is here? All the main attractions of Anuradhapura. We will tell about them today.
I will say right away that the territory of the old city is huge, if you want to see everything, you should take a tuk-tuk and move around on it. Drivers know where it is best to drive up to drop you off, where you can park without a fine, where to meet us. It's comfortable. We did just that. After a little haggling (this must be done), we agreed on $10 and off we went.
As you can see, the main, fully restored objects of the old city are:
- Isuruminia rock monastery
- Temple and Bodhi Tree
- Museum
- Stupas
But of course, there are more interesting objects. Old Anuradhapura is a huge area of about 20 by 20 km. Walk - do not bypass. But since the sights of Anuradhapura belong to the Sinhala Buddhist culture, there is much we do not understand. Well, dagobas and dagobas, I saw one - you know everything. However, it was interesting for us, including observing people. For believers, everything here is full of meaning.
In the IV century BC. Buddhism came to the island. At the same time, a branch of the Bo tree appeared here.
Isurumuniya Vihara
English Isurumuniya Vihara (Originally Meghagiri Vihara)
Here begins the territory of the old city. In 1950, all residents from this territory were relocated to the New City.
The rock palace was built in 307-267 BC. for 500 monk boys from the upper class. Located in the rocks, next to Lake Tisza. Transferred to the disposal of the community of monks. The Isurumuniya temple was one of the buildings of the largest monastery in Anuradhapura.
Here are:
- two temples - old and new
buddha statues
- mortar
- Lake Tisza
- sculptures
- Museum
bodhi tree
Full name: Mahabodhi Tree (Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi)
One of the most famous Buddhist shrines in the whole world. The Bodhi Tree, or simply, the Bo Tree is very old, it is 2250 years old. It is grown from a branch of a tree (ficus) in the city of Bodh Gaya, under which Prince Gautami became an enlightened Buddha.
In the 19th century, the main trunk of the Mahabodhi tree in Anuradhapura was cut down by an English fanatic, but a small trunk remains, which is now revered and held up with golden props.
The monks tending the tree take young shoots and grow new trees. There are many Bodhi trees on the temple grounds.
Bronze Palace (Loja Pasada)
Another name is Lovamahapaya. The palace is located next to the sacred tree. Built for monks.
This amazing building is 2000 years old. It was built under the legendary Anuradhapura ruler Dutugamunu.
Everyone writes that the temple has 9 floors, but I have no idea how high they should be if the height of the entire temple is 4 meters. The temple has over 1000 rooms. Now we hardly see them. There are 1600 columns along the perimeter. Here it is, please. True, while the columns are concrete, they make a strange look, but it's impressive. Once upon a time, the columns were decorated with silver slabs.
The roof is shaped like a pyramid, its vaults were decorated with copper tiles to make it shine in the sun.
The legend says that the appearance of the building is taken from the vision of the monks.
A group of monks saw the temple while meditating. They sketched what they saw with red arsenic and brought the drawing to the king.
The first temple was built of wood and burned down during one of the fires. Today, only the mention of him and the columns remain.
Around the Bodhi tree is the historical territory of Anuradhapura. Long Alley - the ancient street of the city comes from the temple of the Bo tree.
Along it are huge religious buildings, shaped like a bell. These are dagobas or stupas.
Dagoba or Stupa is a Buddhist architectural and sculptural monolithic monumental and religious building with a hemispherical outline. Initially, the stupa was a reliquary, and then became a monument erected in honor of some event in Buddhism. Historically, it goes back to burial mounds built for the burial of kings or leaders. Wikipedia
Mirisaveti Dagoba
English Mirisaweti Stupa
The legend tells: King Dutugamunu with a harem went to Lake Tisza, where the Water Festival was held. He stuck his staff (scepter) into the soft earth, in which the relic was hidden (most likely a piece of Buddha's bone).
After some time, while preparing to return to the palace, the king found that neither he nor any of his retinue could pull the staff out of the ground - it took root and grew into the ground. Dutugamunu regarded this as a sign from above - the relic should remain in this place, and decided to build a dagoba over the staff.
Mirisaveti
The construction of the building took 3 years. The stupa was rebuilt in the 10th century.
You have already understood that inside each stupa there is a reliquary in which some kind of shrine is kept. It can be a piece of Buddha's bone, his alms bowl, a belt, even a footprint or. The Dagobah may be a monument to the event.
English Ruwanwelisaya Stupa
To see the next stupa, you need to go to the Basavakkulam reservoir.
Ruvanveli Dagoba was built in the II - I centuries AD.
The most famous building of King Dutugemunu. It is also called the White Stupa or Mahatupa, which means "great stupa".
The stupa houses the Buddha's begging bowl.
The building is huge. It covers an area of 120 hectares.
At present, its height is more than 90 meters, and the diameter at the base is 91 meters.
And this is how the stupa looks on a holiday:
We watched the embellishment take place. This can be seen in the photo report.
Ruvanveli Stupa
The foundation of the stupa is made of golden gravel. It is placed on a pedestal. It looks impressive, solemn and mysterious - there are bas-reliefs of 400 elephants on the pedestal. The symbolic and cosmogonic meaning is that the World stands on Elephants.
Elephants participated in the construction of the Ruvanveli dagoba. Each elephant's leg was tied with a leather cloth.
The king personally supervised the work. He watched how the relic chamber for the Buddha bowl was created and watched how the bowl was hidden inside.
During construction, delegations from various parts of India came to the stupa, 30,000 monks from Alexandria (in the Caucasus) led by the Indo-Greek monk Mahadharmarakshita (Mahadharmaraksita).
In 1839 the dagoba was rebuilt.
Sanctuary
Near Ruvanveli there is a sanctuary with 5 statues telling about the incarnations of the Buddha. Pay special attention to one of them. This is a statue of a meditating Buddha. It is believed that she is a portrait of King Duthugamunu. (I have told quite a lot about Datugumunu in the previous article).
Nearby is a smaller copy of the entire sanctuary.
The legend of the stupa and the death of Dutugamunu
King Dutugamunu did not see the completion of the work - the complex was completed after his death by the son of the king. But the Sri Lankans say touching story O last hours the life of Duthugamun.
Ruvanveli Stupa is the favorite brainchild of the king. He dreamed of seeing the building completed, but his health was getting worse and the king held on to the last of his strength. Feeling his imminent death, he hurried his brother, who was now in charge of the construction. And the brother said that there was not much left, although unexpected difficulties delayed the completion of the building.
Seeing that the king was dying, and wishing to make him happy, the brother announced the good news that the stupa was ready. The king was so inspired that his strength returned for a while and he decided to see the creation before his death.
The palanquin with the king was moving towards the dagoba, on the way the king met his old friend, who has now become a monk. They talked about the mortality of old men and how rulers are reborn in the celestial sphere of Tushita immediately after death.
The king died happy, never knowing that his brother Tissa went to deceit: knowing that the king's eyesight had become very weak, the brother pulled the purest white fabric over the frame. Dutugamunu was sure that the stupa was completed.
In fact, it was only half built.
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Jetavana Dagobah
English Jethawanaramaya Dagoba
If you leave the complex and go through the Jetavanarama monastery, you will see another huge stupa.
This is Jetavana Dagoba, the highest stupa in Sri Lanka. Built in the III century BC. where the Nandana gardens were. Here, for seven days, the son of King Ashoka, Prince Arahat Mahinda, who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka, read a sermon.
Jetavana is a modified Indian word for Jotivana. It translates as "the place where the rays of liberation shone."
Each stupa holds a shrine. Inside this stupa is the belt of the Buddha.
Jetavana Dagoba is the tallest brick building in the world. Of the ancient structures, only two pyramids in Giza are higher than it.
The stupa was completely destroyed. Restoration work began only in 1981. Since then, the dagoba has been open to pilgrims, and services are held here.
If we consider the main historical document of the Sinhalese kingdom - the chronicles of Mahavasma, then we will find out the details of the construction and features of this dagoba.
At its base is an ideal circle with a diameter of 122 meters, which is difficult to do without special measuring tools.
It is known that the construction of this dagoba took about 90 million bricks.
Thuparam Stupa
Anngl. Thuparama Dagoba
Anuradhapura's oldest dagoba. Built in the III century BC.
Located next to Jetavana Dagoba. The oldest dagoba of Tuparam.
The first stupa meant that the king of Sri Lanka had adopted Buddhism.
In the 19th century it was faced with marble.
Abhayagiri dagoba
English Abayagiri Dagoba. It is also called Abyagiri Dagoba.
In the north of the complex are the ruins of the Abhayagiri monastery. It was built specifically for the monks who were expelled from the main monastery.
The monks were declared heretics, but in fact they created the Mahayana Buddhist movement, more liberal than the mainstream.
Abyagiri Dagoba is the center of this current.
This is what Abhayagiri Dagaba looked like quite recently
Inside the monastery there is another interesting dagoba.
During its foundation (XII century) it was the second highest in the Capital.
Tradition says that it was built right above the place where the Buddha's foot touched the ground.
Kuttam Pokuna (Twin Pools)
There is a unique building on the territory of the Abyagiri monastery. These are twin pools built by the masters of the ancient capital.
The name should not confuse you, the pools are not identical. The length of one is 40 meters, the other is only 28 meters. But this is not the main thing: the local water purification system is much more interesting, because the water in the pools is clear and clean.
The pools are considered to be an example of significant achievements in the field of hydro-engineering and architectural-artistic creations of the ancient Sinhalese.
Before entering the tanks, the water passes through a series of narrow underground channels, is filtered by sand and earth, entering the pool completely cleaned of dirt and debris.
For the pools, granite slabs were cut to include the bottom and sides of the pool. And around the pool, a wall is built that encloses and secures the connection.
The entrance to the pool is decorated with a lion's head and an image of a snake, on the walls of the bowl of abundance.
Real live turtles are splashing in the pools themselves.
Finally, we want to give you some useful tips:
Show respect for other religions. A famous scandal erupted in Anuradhapura a few years ago when our tourist was put in jail. She wanted to take a memorable photo in front of the sacred ancient Buddha statue. They say she turned her back, but I think it was something more serious.
This is the statue of Buddha.
- Dagoba needs to be bypassed in a certain direction - clockwise. This is a ritual bypass, corresponding to the culture of Buddhism.
By the way, in Hinduism it is customary to make a detour as well - clockwise. It is believed that witches and sorcerers for the sake of their black deeds, go counterclockwise.
- To visit any religious places in Sri Lanka, we recommend dressing modestly, in accordance with Buddhist requirements: legs are covered (not shorts), shoulders are covered (not a T-shirt).
- Take off your shoes in front of the temple and leave them in a specially designated place or put them in a bag and carry them with you.
- Enter the temple barefoot. If the stoves are very cold or vice versa - they are hot in the sun, go in socks, but without shoes.
- When visiting sights that are far from the noise and roads, be careful: there may be snakes and monitor lizards in the grass.
we went to Anuradhapura by bus as usual. The ride takes 3 hours, the cost of 2 tickets is 300 rupees. And, as usual, we were dropped off not at the station, but somewhere in the city. First of all, we wanted to go to the railway station. Until now, we have traveled around Lanka by bus. However, now they decided to use the services of the Sri Lankan railways. The fact is that the next point of our trip was Unawatuna. located almost in the south of the island. By e-mail, the hostess of the villa we booked in Unawatuna asked what time we would arrive. We reported that we were already in Sri Lanka and on the appointed day we would arrive from Anuradhapura in the evening. Having learned that we were planning to travel by bus, the hostess expressed great doubts about the success of our undertaking.
The Anuradhapura-Colombo-Unawatuna distance is not very large by Russian standards, and, in our opinion, it is quite surmountable in a daylight. But buses in Lanka are really not in a hurry, and the mistress of the house, although she was a New Zealander, has lived here for a long time. There is no direct railway connection from here to Unawatuna, you need to go through Colombo. We read that in order to get tickets for the 1st or 2nd class (some horrors were written about the 3rd class), you need to take tickets in advance. That's why we had to get to the station first. We started looking around, trying to get our bearings. We were quickly noticed by a tuker and offered to take us to the railway station for 100 rupees. We knew that there were two stations in Anuradhapura, but we did not know which one we needed. 100 rupees (40 rubles) is a small amount and, having specified that we need a station from which we can go to Colombo, we set off. At the station, we went to the window with the inscription "1, 2 class" and asked for two tickets for the day after tomorrow to Colombo in the first class. We were told that there were no first-class carriages for any train in this direction. And not only on the day we need, but in general. I had to take 2 tickets of the second class with departure the day after tomorrow at 9 am. The cashier took 1,800 rupees from us and gave us a half-A4 sheet perforated along the edges, where the date, time, carriage class and seat numbers C7, C8 were indicated. We checked with the cashier whether this inscription exactly means the numbers of our seats, and received an affirmative answer. The mood has improved: it means that we won’t have to stand in the aisle and fight for seats.
At the exit of the station, a heavy man in a shirt, sarong and sandals on his bare feet approached us. "Taxi, sir?" he turned to her husband. Taxi?! Is there really a taxi here?! Not a tuk-tuk, but a normal car with a trunk and even air conditioning?! Riding a tuk in any country does not give us pleasure. Driving in the heat, inhaling the exhaust gases of passing cars, dust, dying from the driver's pirouettes, and then figuring out why the price turned out to be higher than agreed is not the most pleasant experience. Taxi is always easier and more comfortable. Only so far we have not been able to see a taxi in Sri Lanka, except at the airport. Joyful, we threw our things into the trunk and plunged into the air-conditioned coolness of the car interior. Our hotel was located in the strip between urban development and expanses of rice fields. It was even called Heaven Upon Rice Fields - "Heaven over the rice fields." That's why I chose it, I liked the description and reviews. Our driver knew the object we booked. On the way he asked about our plans. We answered that today we would like to visit Mihintale and would be happy to do it by car. He literally jumped up on the seat and clapped his hands - he was ready to take us. Having unloaded the suitcases at the hotel and paid 200 rupees, we asked the driver about the price of a trip to Mihintale by car. He quoted a price of 2,500 rupees. As we knew from the network, the trip was supposed to cost no more than 1500. As a result, we bargained until 1700, agreed on the time of departure, we wanted to take a shower and have a bite to eat first.
A palm squirrel jumped into our room through the open doors of the balcony.
We wanted to treat her, but she turned out to be so frightened that, after running for a minute along the eaves and curtains, she quickly jumped out. From the windows - really a view of the rice fields and Mount Mihintale, where we planned to go today.
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At the appointed time, a minibus drove into the yard. A completely different person came out of it and asked if we were going to Mihintal. We replied that we were really going to Mihintal, but we had already agreed with another driver. In response, he told us that Abi (the name that the previous driver wrote us) is his brother, and that he is currently busy. We approached the minibus and saw a guy and a girl in the cabin. To our question, the driver said that they were also going to Mihintale. But we didn't agree! We were going to go by ourselves, and not in the company of strangers, and did not want to either adapt ourselves to someone, or force someone to adapt to us. We resolutely turned back. The driver trotted behind us, convincing us that we would not interfere with each other at all. Then he said that he would make a discount of up to 1,500 rupees - "only for you." The time was 4 pm, the owner of the hotel said that he could, if necessary, organize a tuk-tuk for us. But knock-knock, not a car. Time was now more expensive, I did not want to waste it in search of another car. We agreed.
The couple in the minibus was from the Czech Republic. When asked what language they prefer to communicate in - English or Russian - they confidently chose Russian. The guy was from Karlovy Vary (probably the most “Russian” Czech city), understood Russian tolerably well and, although slowly and carefully choosing his words, he spoke quite well. He said that they came from Colombo, where they spent two days, and that Colombo is a boring and uninteresting city with absolutely nothing to do. We shared our impressions.
Now about Mihintal. It is located just 12 kilometers from Anuradhapura. Very atmospheric place, we recommend it for mandatory viewing. There were statements that Mihintale is even more interesting than Anuradhapura herself. It's hard to compare, but we really liked this place. It is known for the fact that it was from here that Buddhism began to spread across the island, the first teacher of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Mahinda, preached here. The complex includes three hills: Mango Plateau (Ambastala), Royal Hill (Rajagiri), Elephant Mountain (Anaikutti). Climbing Mount Mihintale is quite difficult: the height of the mountain is 305 meters and in order to get to the top, you need to overcome 1840 steps.
But by transport, you can drive up to the upper parking area, which will cut the path in half, although a couple of less interesting sights will remain unseen, as we read. But almost next to the parking lot there are 68 caves, and the ruins of Medamaluwa, and the Mango Plateau.
After getting out of the car, we parted ways with fellow travelers, without agreeing on when we would return to the car. We intended to take our time to examine everything that we had outlined.
It is better to climb here early in the morning, before it is too hot, or after the midday heat, as we did. Be sure to stock up on water and take socks with you (you will have to walk around the entire complex, as always in Lanka, without shoes). We did not seek to see all the ruins here. In addition to the Mango Plateau (tickets for two - 1000 rupees), other attractions of Mihintale are available for free, but are located quite far from each other.
Directly from the upper parking area, a narrow staircase leads to the right to the Kantaka Chetya Stupa (II century BC), which is one of the oldest structures in Lanka.
To the southwest of Kantak, Chetya are heaps of huge boulders, followed by a ridge of 68 caves.
A little higher up the stairs and to the side is Cobra Pond, a natural reservoir filled with rainwater. The edges of the Pond are lined with stones, and an image of a five-headed cobra with an open hood is carved on the rock. According to legend, Mahindu bathed here. But its main value was as a source for the irrigation system of the entire Mihintale complex.
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The mango plateau is the place where the main attractions of Mihintale are concentrated. It is a platform in the center of which the Ambasthala Dagoba Stupa (Ambasthala Dagoba) is installed, the columns around it previously supported the already unpreserved roof of the vata-da-ge (in Sinhalese - “round house of relics”)
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monkeys feast on lotuses on the altar.
Next to the stupa is a rounded piece of unworked stone embedded in the platform - the place where King Devanampiya Tissa first met Mahindu. The stone is protected by a fence and a roof, and strewn with money donated by the faithful.
behind rises the main hill of Mihintale - Aradhana Gala (Aradhana Gala), from which Mahindu read his sermons
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upstairs you need to climb the carved steps, and then the iron stairs. From there open great views
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on the left is the statue of the Buddha (Buddha Statue), it does not represent historical value, but adds appropriate color to the environment
on the right - the white stupa Mahaseya Dagoba - the largest in Mihintal, its construction belongs to the king Mahadathika Mahanaga (beginning of the 1st century). According to legend, Buddha's hair is immured in it.
view from the platform next to the stupa
bodhi tree
endemic birds of Sri Lanka feast on candle wicks without any reverence
pond with fish and turtles
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Mahindu Stupa (Mihindu Seya) (on the map), where the ashes of Mahindu himself are kept.
If you walk along the path between the Stupa Ambastala and Aradhana Gala, you can go to the Cave of Mahinda, where he lived and meditated. There you can see the so-called bed of Mahinda - a flat rock slab.
Mihintale is saturated with some goodness and peace. Is it somehow related to Buddhism (there is a small functioning temple in the middle between the stupas) or is it simply natural place strength, I don't know. But from the visit there was a feeling of received spiritual strength and health. We were very pleased with the visit.
It took us about two hours for a leisurely inspection of everything, but, I repeat, we did not examine the numerous ruins below the parking area. In general, we are of the opinion that one should not be too tired and make extra efforts when sightseeing. Museum or archaeological complex - after 3 hours, fatigue and dullness of perception sets in, and then the effect and impressions are not at all the same. Too little is always better than too much, in my opinion.
When we returned to the minibus, it turned out that the Czechs were already there. Their bored look said that they were obviously waiting for us for more than five minutes. It turned out to be half an hour. We were a little uncomfortable, but it was not to refuse to view everything that we wanted in a mode that was comfortable for us ... Here is the result of a joint trip of different people. True, then the guy, apologetically, asked us to let the driver first take them to where they could buy beer, and only then to the hotel. We gladly agreed, compensating them for their time of waiting.
In our hotel, dinner was ordered, because judging by the reviews, it’s better not to take risks here, but to eat at your hotel. Moreover, it cost 600 rupees per person, everything is very tasty (curry with another variety of sauces). In general, we really liked the hotel and the owners (young family). I have a review on booking
In the evening we asked the owner of the hotel to call our friend Abi and order a car for us to see Anuradhapura. The objects are located far from each other, and it is best to inspect the complex, and even in the heat, by transport.
In the morning, at the appointed time, a minibus drove into the courtyard of our hotel - another one again - not the same as yesterday. The driver was different. Young guy. From a conversation with him, it turned out that he had come for us, and Abi was his uncle. In general, a family clan. This time there were no fellow travelers, it was possible to comfortably inspect everything that was interesting to us, cooling each time in the saving air-conditioned atmosphere of the car after the next object under the scorching sun.
We had a printout of the map of Anuradhapura tourist sites. At the beginning of the trip, we considered the Abhayagiri monastery complex as an object to visit (1 ticket 30 dollars). But already now we decided to refrain from examining it for the time being, or, in any case, to leave it for last. The driver, when asked if it was worth going to Abhayagiri, shrugged doubtfully and said that "Abhayagiri is not very important." In addition, the following opinion was met on the Internet: “Many tourists generally refuse to buy a ticket, go around the sights on their own, without entering the territory of Abhayagiri, visiting only free ones. Paid and free dagobas are generally the same, and you will most likely get bored after the third or fourth.
Anuradhapura is the first ancient capital of the Sinhalese kingdom. The main tourist sites in the city are stupas. Some of them are just gigantic. One of them is brick Jetavana. It is really just huge, visible from afar. It is the highest brick dagoba in the world (originally 122 m, III century). The belt of the Buddha is allegedly immured inside.
The rest of the stupas are also quite interesting and completely free. Particularly liked Ruvanvelizia. The most revered of all the other stupas, because it contains the most relics.
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The stupa is located on a platform decorated with bas-reliefs of more than a hundred elephants (elephants participated in the construction of the dagoba).
Around the stupa are located: a sanctuary with 5 statues of Buddha and frescoes,
4 mini-dagobas, a model of a dagoba in a glass cube and a sculpture of King Dutugemunu.
The height of the stupa is 92 m, diameter 90. From the original appearance almost nothing is left. We even saw the next restoration work, in which both the monks and the local population participated.
Thuparam Stupa(Thuparama Dagoba) - the very first stupa in Sri Lanka, dedicated to the emergence of Buddhism.
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The clavicle of the Buddha is immured in the Stupa, around the remains of the destroyed buildings of the old city.
And again we are glad to see you on the pages. Today, having left the north of Sri Lanka, namely, we set off towards sacred Anuradhapura city with many ancient monuments cultural heritage, it is also called old town, from where in 1950 all the inhabitants were relocated to a new part of the city. And since we are not too rich travelers, we will share with you the story of how we managed to see all the sights for free.
Bus: Anuradhapura can be reached by bus in 5 hours (it comes to the bus station in the New City).
- Option 1 - after the airport in Colombo we get to bus station airport (on foot, “tuk-tuk”). There is no direct bus from this station to Anuradhapura, but from there you can get to Colombo itself and transfer there to a direct bus number 5.
- Option 2 - get to the bus station in Negombo, transfer to the bus to Anuradhapura or to Kurenegala (Kurunegala) where you can again transfer to another bus. Straight the bus is coming via Puttalam. You can also get with a change through Kandy, Matale, Kurunegala (Kurunegala).
Deciding to try public transport, we traveled by bus from Jaffna for 100 rupees (26 rubles).
Having reached the town of Kilinochi (from Kilinochi to Anuradhapura 144 km), we already hitchhiked, but you can use the train (280 rupees per person).
How to get to the holy city of Anuradhapura for free.
Since we got up early, we still had a lot of time left to hitchhike to the desired point and see more sights. Basically, everything interesting cities is located on one large territory, where a single entrance ticket costs 3,200 rupees (800 rubles) or $ 25. After all, we still did not know how many passes on Attraction are, although I heard, in some cases very overpriced. And it's not at all that Sri Lanka has the most unique sights in all of Asia, it's just that the policy of the state here is too greedy for money.
Naturally, paying such crazy money for a couple of stupas is too “stupid”, so we went around the territory a little to the side and climbed over a low fence. The first stop was a 120 meter stupa Jetavanarama, located on the ruins of Jetavana monastery.
Well, yes, a big, big stupa, of which we have seen enough in, differs from the rest only in that it is considered the largest in Sri Lanka. And it is necessary, it is not even stipulated, that it keeps a fragment of some “detail” of the Buddha. This time it's part of his belt.
In principle, even a little impressive in size, and for me personally, it seemed the most interesting attraction of Anuradhapura than all the other archaeological sites of the old city.
To get to the second stupa, we had to go through the secondary ticket control, which we, of course, did not suspect.
The guard, seeing two large backpacks from afar, immediately jumped up and waved his arms at us. Andrei did not even look in his direction, passing on, I followed his example. The guard, taken aback by our impudence, left his place and in three jumps appeared in front of us, blocking the way and shouting “Ticket! Ticket! I silently shifted my gaze to Andrei, who looked at the guard with a stupid look and, in turn, also waved his hands at him, pretending to be a deaf-mute. The uniformed man's face slowly stretched out and froze for a few seconds. I almost spoiled everything with the desire to laugh when I saw his confused look. Still in shock, he automatically pointed his finger in my direction, hoping that maybe I was "normal". However, I repeated the same "concert", smiling guiltily at the same time. This finally "finished off" the guard, waving his hand, he missed our smiling grateful faces further.
Picnic at the Ruvanvalisaya stupa.
Having walked forward a few meters, we allowed ourselves to have fun from the heart. In order not to run into another employee of the holy city of Anuradhapura, we walked around a large white stupa Ruvanvalisaya on the side.
I would say that it opened from here best view on her.
Another "masterpiece" of Sri Lankan architecture is also known as Mahathupa, Swarnamali and Ratnamali Dagaba.
Here we temporarily left our backpacks to rest in the shade of the trees, sway on the long springy branches like monkeys, and stare at the birds.
By the way, there were enough monkeys here too, I can’t stand them since childhood.
We were not approached and okay.
Acquaintance at the sacred tree Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi (Sri Maha Bodhi).
After a rest, the hike continued to the sacred tree Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, grown from the shoot of the same one under which enlightenment descended on the Buddha. Got it along the way Lovamahapaya (Lovamahapaya)- a building formed in ancient times by 40 rows, each of which contains 40 stone columns, which is a total of 1600 columns. The remains of the latter (and maybe a remake) can be seen right in front of the palace.
Suddenly, a young foreigner appeared in front of me, who greeted me in good English and asked where I was from. What else could I say if not the truth. The guy was from Germany, for the first time he got out of his country and somehow his choice fell on Sri Lanka. He asked where we were staying, noticing two backpacks next to me. He obviously lacked company, perhaps he hoped to join us. I said that we are hitchhikers and sleep in a tent or with locals. At first he was interested in this, and he even squatted down in front of me, but after a few of my stories, he realized that it was unlikely that we were on the way, saying goodbye as quickly as he appeared.
By that time, Andrey had finished examining the sacred plant behind the fence, and answered my questions briefly: “a tree is like a tree, nothing special. The fence is only fenced off from particularly curious eyes and mischievous hands.
The last attraction of Anuradhapura is the Mirisaveti Stupa.
Before you leave the old part sacred city of Anuradhapura, Andrey decided to turn to the next stupa Mirisaveti (Mirisaveti Stupa), built on the site of a scepter with relics of the same Buddha.
There was nothing else to do in the city, and we went in search of a bus to the nearest one, 16 km before which we paid 35 rupees (9 rubles). Where we had dinner and found shelter in one of the churches that accidentally remained open all night, but you will learn about these details a little later. Stay with us, subscribe to blog news and don't forget to share your pleasant impressions of what you read with your friends through the social buttons below :).
