Anuradhapura Ancient City

Anuradhapura, North Central Province, Sri Lanka

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Anuradhapura Ancient City in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Asia and the island’s first long-lasting capital, flourishing from about the 4th century BCE to the 11th century CE as the heart of Sinhalese power and Theravada Buddhism.

Now a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological park, it is famous for its colossal brick stupas like Ruwanwelisaya and Jetavanaramaya, vast monastic complexes, ancient royal palaces, and the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi tree, grown from a cutting of the Buddha’s enlightenment tree brought in the 3rd century BCE. 

After repeated South Indian invasions it was abandoned and reclaimed by jungle, then rediscovered and restored in the 19th–20th centuries, and today it is both a major pilgrimage site and a key stop on Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle.