Anuradhapura Kingdom – UNESCO World Heritage Site
Anuradhapura is the capital city of the North Central Province and the administrative centre of Anuradhapura District. According to the chronicles, this city was the first kingdom in Sri Lanka in the 5th century BC. This city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its well-preserved ruins of the ancient Sinhalese civilisation. It is 205 kilometers from the current capital of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Anuradhapura was the major center of Theravada Buddhism for many centuries and has been a main Buddhist pilgrimage site with wandering ruins of many ancient Buddhist temples and monasteries, including the popular Ruwanweli Maha Seya, Jethawanaaramaya (the biggest pagoda in the world), and the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, the oldest still-living, documented, planted tree in the world, which the lord Buddha was enlightened under. And Buddhists all over the world are coming here to worship Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi.
According to the new archaeological excavations, evidence has been revealed that the human settlement in this area dates back as far as the 10th century BC. The famous attractions in Anuradhapura are mentioned below.
- Ruwanweliseya pagoda
- Jethawanaaramaya pagoda
- Abhayagiriya pagoda
- Mirisawetiya pagoda
- Kuttam pokuna (twin ponds)
- Mihinthalaawa rock
- Isurumuniya Buddhism and archaeology site
- Anuradhapura Museum
- Thissa tank
