Hundreds of years prior to the birth of Christ, while other regions were emerging from the stone ages, Sri Lanka was a land of highly advanced cities of which Anuradhapura was the greatest. Its ruins today display infinite detail of rare beauty, delicately set in the world’s mightiest masses of monumental masonry, second only to the pyramids of Egypt.

As it was only the Buddhist religion that was considered worthy of permanence, Buddhist structures alone were given to the imperishable medium of stone.

For Buddhists there are eight places of particular sanctity within Anuradhapura. These are the Sri Maha Bodhi, the Ruwanweli Seya, the Thuparama Dagoba, the Jetavanarama Dagoba, the Abhayagiri Dagoba, the Lankarama Dagoba, the Mirisaweti dagoba and the Isurumuniya Viharaya.

From a non-religious point of view, Anuradhapura is captivating for its architectural excellence. The city has an appeal that relates to almost anyone and even the least artistically inclined traveler will find himself in awe and wonder.

(Information obtained from Sri Lanka - Insight Guides, Apa Productions (HK) Ltd.)