We use cookies to improve your experience and understand how the site is used. See our Cookie policy.
Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka | Experience Sri Lanka
Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Sacred City
Cultural Triangle
Things to do in Anuradhapura: Sri Maha Bodhi, Ruwanwelisaya, Jetavanaramaya and Mihintale, plus the sacred city ticket, cycling the ruins and getting there.
Anuradhapura is Sri Lanka's first great capital and the oldest of its ancient cities. The Sacred City sits on the dry North Central plain about 205 km north of Colombo, and UNESCO listed it in 1982. Things to do in Anuradhapura centre on giant stupas, the sacred Bodhi tree and monastery ruins spread across more than 100 sq km. One full day covers the main sites; stay two nights to add Mihintale.
Kings ruled from here for about 1,300 years, until a Chola invasion in 993 AD, and the city grew around a cutting of the Bodhi tree brought from India in the 3rd century BC. That tree, Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, is still alive and still the heart of the city, the oldest documented planted tree in the world. Pilgrims in white bring flowers, and local farmers offer rice from their first harvest. A short walk north, Ruwanwelisaya rises about 103 m, a white dome King Dutugemunu began around 140 BC, ringed by a wall of carved elephants.
Further north, Thuparamaya is held to be the first stupa built in Sri Lanka, circled by slender stone pillars that once carried a roof. Jetavanaramaya is the brick giant: about 122 m tall when King Mahasena started it in the 3rd century AD, it was then the tallest stupa on earth. In the Abhayagiri monastery, look for the Samadhi Buddha statue, a meditating figure carved from a single block of dolomite marble, and Kuttam Pokuna, a pair of stepped ponds where the monks bathed.
Places in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
Loading map…
South of the main ruins, Isurumuniya is a small rock temple known for its carved lovers and elephants bathing in the rock face. Mirisawetiya is calm in the evening, and the bund of Tissa Wewa, an ancient reservoir, is where locals walk at sunset.
Add Anuradhapura to your trip plan and see it on a map alongside your other stops: Start planning your trip.
Tickets and getting around
Foreign visitors need a sacred city ticket for the main ruins, so bring your passport. Buy it through the Central Cultural Fund online or at the counters by the Archaeological Museum, the Jetavanarama Museum and the Abhayagiri Museum, and keep it on you, because staff check tickets on the roads between sites. Sri Maha Bodhi, Isurumuniya and the museums charge separately, and South Asian passport holders get a reduced rate.
The sites are too far apart to walk in the heat. Many guesthouses rent bicycles, and the flat, shaded roads around Abhayagiri and Thuparamaya are easy riding. Otherwise hire a tuk-tuk or a local driver for the day, or book a licensed guide to make sense of the ruins.
Getting to Anuradhapura
Trains from Colombo Fort take 4 to 5 hours on the Northern line, including the Yal Devi and Uttara Devi, and continue north to Jaffna. Buses take about 5 hours, and Kandy is about 3.5 hours by road via Dambulla. That makes Anuradhapura an easy start or finish to a Cultural Triangle loop with Sigiriya, Dambulla and Polonnaruwa. Most places to stay are in the New Town, east of the ruins, and you can compare hotels and guesthouses there.
Mihintale
Mihintale, about 12.5 km east, is where Buddhism is said to have reached Sri Lanka, when the monk Mahinda met King Devanampiyatissa on a June full moon. A granite stairway of 1,840 steps climbs past monastery ruins to the Maha Seya stupa and the Aradhana Gala rock.
Weather, festivals and etiquette
Anuradhapura is hot all year, with daytime highs around 33°C. October and November are the wettest months, when the northeast monsoon arrives, and June is the driest. Poson Poya, the June full moon, brings huge crowds of pilgrims to Anuradhapura and Mihintale. It is moving to see, but rooms fill and roads jam, and alcohol sales stop on every Poya day.
Wear light clothing that covers your shoulders and knees, white if you want to blend in with the pilgrims. Take off shoes and hats at stupas and the Bodhi tree, walk clockwise around stupas and never pose with your back to a Buddha statue. Keep bags zipped around the macaques, and buy only replica antiques, because taking anything over 100 years old out of the country is illegal.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need in Anuradhapura?
One full day covers Sri Maha Bodhi, the great stupas and Abhayagiri if you start at sunrise. Two nights let you add Mihintale and see the stupas lit up in the evening.
Is Anuradhapura worth visiting?
Yes, if you care about history or want to see a living pilgrimage city rather than only ruins. It is spread out and hot, so if you only have time for one ancient city, compact Polonnaruwa is easier to cover.
Do you need a ticket for Anuradhapura?
Yes. Foreign visitors buy a sacred city ticket for the main ruins, online through the Central Cultural Fund or at the museum counters. Sri Maha Bodhi, Isurumuniya and the museums charge separately, so check current prices before you go.
How far is Anuradhapura from Sigiriya?
About 2 hours by road. Many travellers do Anuradhapura as a long day trip from Sigiriya or Dambulla, but staying overnight lets you see the stupas at sunrise and after dark.
Save the sites you liked, add a driver for the Cultural Triangle and send enquiries straight from your itinerary: Plan your Sri Lanka trip on VisitLanka.
