ABOUT ANCIENT CIVILIZATION OF SRI LANKA

ABOUT ANCIENT CIVILIZATION OF SRI LANKA

The central area of Sri Lanka, approximately 120 km from Colombo, is home to three ancient capitals (Sigiriya, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa) and Dambula Temple, spanning 2,500 years of history. By 377 BC, the capital city of Anuradhapura had been established complete with the first man-made reservoir. In 246 BC, the son of an Indian Buddhist Emperor arrived in Sri Lanka to spread Buddha’s teachings, successfully converting Anuradhapura’s king on a nearby hill at Mihintale. A collection of Buddha’s relics were presented to the king including a sapling from the sacred bo tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. The tree grown from that same sapling still stands in Anuradhapura today. Buddhism spread quickly and Anuradhapura became an important center for Buddhist learning in Asia. In 313 AD, one of the Buddha’s teeth was brought to Anuradhapura, to be housed centuries later in Kandy’s Temple of the Tooth. Apart from a brief interlude when the capital moved to Sigirya RockFortress, Anuradhapura remained the seat of Sinhalese power until 993. The new capital at Polonnaruwa became one of the greatest cities in Asia until the 1400s when it moved to Kotte, near Colombo. Whether you stay for a week or just a day in Cultural Triangle, the rewards are immense.