"The Ancient City of Anuradhapura" Top 5 Page for this destination Anuradhapura by jungles

Anuradhapura Travel Guide: 94 reviews and 269 photos

Anuradhapura is one of the ancient cities that make up the cultural triangle. While a day of sightseeing here is certainly worthwhile, there are several other sights in the triangle that I would rate ahead of this one. If you have limited time then you should make sure you see places like Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, and Sigiriya ahead of Anuradhapura. If you do have enough time to fit it in, then I suggest doing it before Polonnaruwa; if you did it afterwards you would probably see it as a bit of a let-down.

There are several dagobas here in various states of reconstruction, along with sights like the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi tree, the serene 4th century Samadhi Buddha, and the unusual Issurumuniyagala Monastery. The sights are quite spread out and too far to walk; hiring a bike for the day is an excellent way to get around, or you can negotiate with a tuk-tuk driver (bargain hard).

Thuparama Dagoba

Stairway

Pros and Cons

Pros:historic sights, important place of Buddhist pilgrimage
Cons:reconstruction of dagobas, ruins not as impressive as Polonnaruwa
In a nutshell:A pleasant place to visit, but not one of Sri Lanka's best sights

Last visit to Anuradhapura: May 2006
Intro Written May 23, 2006
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Reviews (16)

Hotel Shalini in Anuradhapura - Anuradhapura

Nice Budget Hotel in Anuradhapura Hotels (1)

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Mihintale Things to Do (11)

Mihintale is revered as the place where the Indian emperor Asoka's son Mahinda converted King Devanampiya Tissa to... more travel advice

Issurumuniyagala Monastery Things to Do (11)

This is one of the most interesting sites in Anuradhapura, and even though it is not included in the Cultural Triangle... more travel advice

Archeological Museum Things to Do (11)

This museum is small but has a few items of interest, the most unusual of which is the collection of ancient stone... more travel advice

Restaurants (3)
See All Cheap, spicy buffet in Anuradhapura

Transportation (1)
Cycling around Anuradhapura

Comments (3)

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JLBG Jun 10, 2006 at 11:00 PM

A very interesting page with beautiful photos!
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nepalgoods Jun 4, 2006 at 12:32 AM

Sri Lanka is sooo beautiful!
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Ekahau May 28, 2006 at 6:17 PM

Wow you have done some wonderful pages love the this is the place Mahinda converted King Devanampiya Tissa to Buddhism in 243 BC love your details thanks.