The hill capital of the country, 116 km from Colombo & a former Capital during the reign of the last monarchy of Ceylon. Since it is in the Central Hills, there are numerous roads from which Kandy is connected to all parts of the island. Home of the Consecrated Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic where the sacred tooth relic of Buddha is deposited & displayed, known in Sinhalese as the ‘Sri Dalada Maligawa’ located beside the quaint Kandy Lake – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Behind this Sacred Shrine by the lake is the Kandy Arts Center, where the Kandy Cultural Dance Performance is conducted every evening at 5 pm.
Well landscaped Cemeteries of the British defense forces & leaders who were buried in the Island are located not too far from town. The Royal Botanical Gardens located at Peradeniya is 12 km from the town. This Park contains almost every plant, vine, herb, tree, weed or other kind of vegetation which grows on the planet both Tropical & Temperate. Highly reviewed by visitors from around the globe, it is a place worth visiting. Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage 22 km from town is a another fascinating attraction, where Orphaned Elephants are protected & tamed to help them live out their lives far from the natural but starving wilderness where they’re being picked up from.

Within the cultural triangle of the country, with numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Anuradhapura is the most intriguing place to visit in the plains of the Island. As the 1st Capital of ancient Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura is full of places of interest for the discerning traveler. Amongst the attractions are the eight (8) Buddhist Temples that are commonly visited in Anuradhapura which are : 1. The Jaya Sri Maha Bodiya – Most Venerable Shrine & site where the first sacred Bo tree was planted 2. Thuparamaya – Monastery 3. Lovamahapaya – Brazen Palace 4. Ruwanwelisaya, 5. Mirisawetiya. 6. Abhayagiri, 7. Jetavanaramaya, 8. Isurumuniya.
In addition to these holy & most venerable sites, there are awesome gardens, stone carvings, paintings, inscriptions, ancient ruins, herb gardens, royal spas, tanks & vats to collect water & streams to convey water to distant fields, courtyards & mysterious drawings that arouse the scientific curiosity of the visitor. Ratna Prasada (Gem Palace), Isurumunia (Unreal Granite, Marble & Stone Sculptures by the ‘Tissa’ Wewa (Tank / Lake), Samadhi Buddha Statue, Ancient Ruins of the 4th Century BC, Ritigala Forest, & the alluring 3rd ‘Stargate which has been discovered after Egypt & Peru, at Ranmasu Uyana Royal Park, Anuradhapura. The inscriptions depict the concentric circles required to portray the planets of the solar system with the sun at the epicenter. This & other diagrams of the universe & mysterious creatures have been carved into the rocks where there are awesome regal gardens & bathing spas of the primordial monarchs who ruled the isle from Anuradhapura since the 4th Century BC.

Yet another UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE Site, within the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka as it holds some captivating attractions on the planet. Amongst the ancient ruins of the dynasties that ruled this land is the awesome sculpture left behind in the Stone Temple Sculpture – the ‘Gal Vihara’ complex. This granite carving of a Standing Buddha, a Reclining Buddha & the Buddha in the ‘Lotus’ or seated position has been created out of one rock hill. It appears that a hill that contains granite has been cleared of all the soil, sand & debris. Then the standing statue has been sculptured where the granite has the highest area of the rock, then carefully they’ve ventured out to carve the ‘sitting Buddha’ with the medium sized area of the rock hill & so on. It is a must see attraction in Polonnaruwa alongside the other ruins, inscriptions & carvings in the vicinity. Vatadage, Royal Palaces, Kiri Vehera Dagoba, Rankoth Vehera Stupa, Medirigiriya Ancient Hospital, Minneriya National Park etc. are the other attractions in the vicinity. It is a strict requirement of the authorities, that a specially trained guide equipped with the historical information such as dates, times, names of those who built, carved or inscribed & such other technical data shall accompany the discerning traveler to these sites in order to narrate the historical significance of the sites.

As the largest cave temple in the world, the Rangiri Cave Temple is packed with ancient Murals & art works. Yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site where thousands of Buddhist Paintings, Murals & Carvings from the 2nd Century BC onwards are preserved in large caves atop the granite hill. It is easily accessed from the main Colombo – Anuradhapura main road & thousands of pilgrims from all over the island come to pay their homage to this magnificent exhibition of murals, carvings & Buddha statues displayed in this 2000 year old cave temple. It is a nice reasonably moderate climb to the top passing lush greenery of the dry zone forest with plenty of wood apple trees, flowers & medicinal plants cultivated by the detached & quiet Buddhist monks in meditation & numerous vows in order to attain the heights of Nirvana. Most of the steps to the temple are carved on the granite rock that holds the jewels of the works done in the name of the adorable Buddha in this north western province, in the vicinity of the Sigiriya Rock Fortress & Pidurangala. The wind attracts Hot Air Balloons to the area & it is an awesome sight when the balloons are up in the air blowing away over the green plains.

A Rock Fortress of King Kasyappa during the 5th Century AD is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, it appears like the Fortress was occupied & settled by King Ravana prior to 5,000 BC during the time when he was testing his ‘aircraft’ trying to fly to mainland India & back. An amazing place to reckon with, a palace garden remains atop the boulder sitting on a rocky hill with water stored in tanks, at the base ready to be pumped, deploying a sophisticated hydraulic system, ‘intriguingly futuristic’ back in that time. The visitor passes the royal gardens with moats of water, ancient flower beds still as lively as new ones. Going up the high steps one enters the courtyards through the ‘Lion’s mouth, a large granite carving. From the courtyards one goes up around the boulder to where the Frescos – Paintings & the mirror walls are.
On the ‘rooftop’ it appears pleasant as everything a monarch should want like an amphitheater to convene meetings with the council, dining facilities, rooms to rest, bathing places, lookout points at the edges, etc. are there replete with nothing overlooked. If a roof is fixed over the columns the ‘palace rocks’, as lively as anything alive. There are a lot more to describe about Sigiriya, however it’s better kept discreet, to enable the visitor to discover them on their own, however, watch out for the anomalous stone carving of ‘a flat blackboardlike structure’ on the way down 10m past ‘the amphitheater’ on the side of the boulder overlooking the forest canopy, and figure out as to what purpose it could have served.

A Sacred Holy site for devotees of any religion in Sri Lanka. With shrines for devotional worship to connect with the timeless Buddha or any of the ancient deities such as Murugan / Skanda, it is an ancient holy slow moving destination. The towering ‘Kiri Vehera’ temple painted in white limestone is difficult to miss, this is where the Buddhist devotees worship the Buddha surrendering prostrated by offering flowers. The Holy Kataragama Procession – ‘Perahera’ held around July every year is a special event in the country, as devotees & dancers of every religion take part, particularly the adherents of the great dancer – Lord Shiva.
During this Holy Procession, devotees walk on the fire, on long stretches of burning firewood & coal, however they emerge from the fire unhurt without any burns. The same devotees take showers of boiling milk & boiling water and come out unhurt again without any burns. Then these devotees pierce their body with needles, piercing through their cheeks, arms & stomachs, but no bleeding or even a drop of blood is anywhere to be seen.
Most foreign travelers who come to see this annual event, claim that this phenomenon is a miracle happening in the island. They love it so much that they hang out in the vicinity to find out how such a supernatural occurrence can happen in modern times. Modern Science fails to find any explanation to this anomaly, which puzzles every researcher & touring Scientist as it defies the laws of nature as we know them. It is certainly bizarre, and entices Travelers to return to watch this annual event every year as it is an astonishing performance and are enticed to join in the procession, find out for themselves, how & why this anomaly prevails. At its end, the memory of the water is disseminated to all other holy processions around the island, including the ‘Kandyan Perahera’ scheduled to perform a week after.