Anuradhapura is Sri Lanka’s oldest and most sacred ancient capital – a vast, living city of towering white dagobas, ancient monastery complexes, and the Sri Maha Bodhi tree, a direct descendant of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment and one of the most sacred objects in the Buddhist world. The scale of the ruins here is extraordinary; this was a city of 100,000 people at its height, and what remains – spread across a wide protected zone – is staggering in its ambition and its survival. Best explored slowly, on foot or by bicycle, with a guide who can unlock its depth.
