Anuradhapura
Sri Lanka's first great capital and one of its most sacred cities, where enormous dagobas and monastic ruins reveal more than two thousand years of continuous civilisation.
The Sacred City of Ancient Sri Lanka.
Founded in the 4th century BC, Anuradhapura served as Sri Lanka's capital for well over a thousand years and remains one of the island's most important centres of Buddhist worship. Its dagobas — including Jetavanaramaya, once among the tallest structures in the ancient world — rise from wide, tree-lined grounds still used for pilgrimage today.
A visit typically combines a guided tour of the sacred precinct with the Sri Maha Bodhi, said to have grown from a cutting of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment, making Anuradhapura as much a living spiritual site as an archaeological one.
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What to Experience
Jetavanaramaya Stupa
One of the largest brick structures ever built, a striking symbol of Anuradhapura's ancient engineering.
Sri Maha Bodhi
A sacred fig tree with an unbroken written history stretching back over 2,300 years, still an active pilgrimage site.
Monastic Ruins
Ancient hospitals, moonstones and guard stones scattered across the old city's monastery complexes.
Anuradhapura in Pictures
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