Anuradhapura & Mihintale | Sri Lanka

Anuradhapura is the first and oldest King city of Sri Lanka. You can find the most stunning ruins of stupas, temples, and dagobas in this city. Definitely worth a visit!

Anuradhapura lies in the center-north of Sri Lanka. The city was for 12 centuries the capital before the kings moved the capital to Polonnaruwa. Anuradhapura is now a city where you can find the remains of the once-great city. But before we discover Anuradhapura, we’ll explore Mihintale first.

What we didn’t know in advance is that it was a full moon in June. When it’s a full moon in June, the Poson Poya festival is held. This festival celebrates the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC. The festival is the most important full moon holiday in Sri Lanka and the second most important holiday in Buddhism. The festival is celebrated throughout the country but the most important places are Mihintale and Anuradhapura, the places we were just going to visit.

Mihintale

We arrived in Mihintale and we were just the only tourists there. The place was filled with locals visiting the sacred place. The people were smiling and looking at us (already during the whole trip but now it was just everyone who was looking at us). Mihintale lies on a small mountain, so our first stop was the stupa on top of the mountain.

Aradhana Gala

Aradhana Gala is a rock where the Arahath Mahinda landed from the air. This is the place where King Devanampiya Tissa and the Buddhistic monk Mahinda met and where Mahinda introduced Buddhism to the King and Sri Lanka. We did not climb the rock due to the queue, warm climate and yeah the hot stones. But you have a nice view of it from the stupa.

Anuradhapura

After Mihintale we went to grab lunch and headed to Anuradhapura that was also explored by locals. Once again, we were the only tourists!

1) Jetavanaramaya Dagoba

Our first stop is at the Jetavanaramaya Dagoba. This stupa is 122 meters high and was once the third largest structure in the world (with the 2 pyramids of Gizeh being number 1 and 2).

2) Abhayagiri Dagoba

This dagoba was built with red-brownish bricks. The stupa used to be 113 meters high but is now 84 meters high.

3) Kuttam Pokuna

Anuradhapura has 2 well-preserved pools where monks used to wash in or drank from. The first pool was made for drinking water and the rest went into the second pool where monks could bath themselves. Just incredible that it is still in perfect shape!

4) Buddha Samadhi

When driving in the sacred city, you can find the Buddha Samadhi behind a fence. There used to be 4 statues of this Buddha but the other 3 were damaged by pillagers who took out the blue gems that were located in the eyes of the statue.

5) Elephant Pond

Take a quick stop at the Elephant Pond. This pond was not for elephants to bathe in but was a water reservoir. It is twice the size of a soccer field.

6) Abhayagiri Monastery

In the ruins of Abhayagiri Monastery, you’ll find a moonstone in perfect shape. This moonstone can also be seen in Polonnaruwa but without the cow.

7) Ruwanwelisaya

Our last stupa for the day is the Ruwanwelisaya. This stupa is considered very sacred to many Buddhists because it houses many relics. This stupa is one of the world’s tallest ancient monuments. Take a walk around the stupa and just enjoy it. Make sure to also check the gem on top of the stupa!

8) Lovamahapaya

When walking towards the Sri Maha Bodhi, you’ll pass the Lovamahapaya. This building is known as the Brazen Palace because the roof was covered with bronze tiles.

9) Sri Maha Bodhi

Our last stop today is the Sri Maha Bodhi. The Sri Maha Bodhi is a sacred fig tree that is worshiped. The Indian Emperor gave the tree to the first Buddhist King of Sri Lanka. Buddhists find this tree the oldest historical tree in the world and every year pilgrims come to the tree to worship it.

We enjoyed our trip to Mihintale & Anuradhapura even though we were the only tourists there amid the Poson Poya. But that’s an experience no one can take away from us!

Life of a Passion