Anuradhapura
N 8°19.977', E 80°23.524'
2012-01-29
http://www.ccf.lk/anuradhapura/
Our rating: 7.60
Overall rating: - Rate this place - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Anuradhapura is the ancient capital of Sri Lanka. The settlement was founded in the VI century BC, and in 377 AD the city became the capital. Anuradhapura had lived about 1,400 years with this status until 993, when it was destroyed by the Tamils from southern India. Later rulers of Sri Lanka, who had moved to Polonnaruwa , restored architectural monuments of the city, but Anuradhapura didn't return to its former grandeur and was overgrown by jungle. Anuradhapura was discovered in 1820 by the British and excavations began in 1912. In the heyday its area was 52 square km and population reached 20-30 thousands of people. The city is located in the north of the island and even now is almost not visited by tourists. But it is very popular among local pilgrims, it is the most sacred place in Sri Lanka with the Bo tree and 7 Dagobas (stupas). The Bo tree can be found in many places in Sri Lanka, but in Anuradhapura it is unique. In Buddhism, this is a real tree that was grown in Bodh Gaya (eastern India). Buddhist legend tells of Gautama Buddha who attained enlightenment (bodhi) while meditating under the Bodhi tree. The original tree is not preserved, but the tree in Anuradhapura was grown from its seeds in the III century BC.
Bo tree in Anuradhapura ©Yuriy Buriak
Some kind of procession with a very long flag ©Yuriy Buriak
Locals bring lotus flowers and lay them on the altar. ©Nastya Myronets
Interesting trees in Anuradhapura ©Yuriy Buriak
Monkeys on the way to the Bo tree ©Yuriy Buriak
The biggest surviving stupa is the Jetavana stupa (Jethawanaramaya Dagoba), which is 122 meters high. It is the tallest brick structure in the history of mankind. In the 4th century BC, when it was built, the stupa was the third largest structure in the world after the pyramids of Giza. Curiously, all stupas (even those built in our time) contain small particles of physical remains of Buddha or are built on sites where important religious events took place. Dimensions of the stupa can be evaluated in the next photo, find a human on it :)
Jethawanaramaya Dagoba ©Yuriy Buriak
Ancient city ruins near the Jetavana stupa ©Yuriy Buriak
Interesting tree near the Jetavana stupa ©Yuriy Buriak
Monkeys around the Jetavana stupa ©Yuriy Buriak
Ruanveli Dagoba in Anuradhapura ©Yuriy Buriak
Several water reservoirs of the ancient capital were recovered within the city. We visited the twin pools (Kuttam Pokuna), although in fact they have different size. The ancient Sinhalese created a special cleaning system: water passed through the canals with grooves, the dirt settled, and clean water passed to the reservoirs.
Twin pools (Kuttam Pokuna) ©Yuriy Buriak
Twin pools (Kuttam Pokuna) ©Yuriy Buriak
Twin pools (Kuttam Pokuna) ©Yuriy Buriak
Fish in the twin pools (Kuttam Pokuna) ©Yuriy Buriak
We also visited another interesting object - Isurumuniyya Vihara, a small rock temple with ancient paintings, built in the 3rd century BC. There are few tourists there, a lot of chipmunks and a good observation deck at the top of the cliff.
Isurumuniyya Vihara ©Yuriy Buriak
Isurumuniyya Vihara ©Yuriy Buriak
Modern technology in Anuradhapura ©Yuriy Buriak
There's a lot of chipmunks in Sri Lanka. ©Yuriy Buriak
Coconuts can be bought everywhere ©Yuriy Buriak
Objects in Anuradhapura are located on a quite large area, so it's not easy to visit all of them on foot. If you are without a car, find a trishaw, just don't overpay. The entrance ticket cost $25 in 2012. Common tickets for several places used to exist in Sri Lanka a couple of years ago, but now they're gone.
Map of Anuradhapura ©Yuriy Buriak
VIDEO
Getting there: Distance from Colombo is about 200 kilometers. By car or bus it is covered in 5 hours. Buses depart from the central station of Colombo, Peta. The Colombo - Anuradhapura train also goes 5 hours, some train cars have air conditioning.
Tags, Sri Lanka: abandoned places , buddhist temple Tags, all countries: abandoned places , buddhist temple
- Rate this place -
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - A small town with a poor transport links 4 - Not far from human settlements, can be reached only by car 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - Photograph does not make sense or object in the reconstruction 2 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 3 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 4 - Interfere with foreign objects 5 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 6 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 7 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 8 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 9 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists 10 - A heavenly place, always perfect weather, no tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Our rating - 7.60
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - A small town with a poor transport links 4 - Not far from human settlements, can be reached only by car 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - Photograph does not make sense or object in the reconstruction 2 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 3 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 4 - Interfere with foreign objects 5 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 6 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 7 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 8 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 9 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists 10 - A heavenly place, always perfect weather, no tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Visitor's rating - 0.00
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - A small town with a poor transport links 4 - Not far from human settlements, can be reached only by car 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - Photograph does not make sense or object in the reconstruction 2 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 3 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 4 - Interfere with foreign objects 5 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 6 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 7 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 8 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 9 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists 10 - A heavenly place, always perfect weather, no tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help