Anuradhapura

This is our page for Anuradhapura UNESCO site! 

Anuradhapura UNESCO city complex is famous for its relatively-well-preserved ancient ruins. This is the third place which was adopted as the capital of Rajarata Kingdom, from 4th century BC onward to up until 11th century AD. The kingdom of Tambapanni and Upatissa Nuwara were the first and second capitals of our island respectively. During Anuradhapura's hey days it remained as one of the most stable, prosperous city centers in entire South Asia. The city faced  away as results of South Indian invaders and religious conflicts.  

King Pandukabhaya, 437 BC to 367 BC, made Anuradhapura the capital city of this Island. He formally planned the city with gates, quarters for traders and Basawakkulama reservoir and etc. It was when his grand son was ruling, Devanampiya Tissa, 307 BC to 267 BC, the Buddhism was first introduced to Sri Lanka. It was 236 years after the passing away of Lord Buddha.

According to 'Thirumagal Inscription', the year 993 marked the demise of Anuradhapura Kingdom. Grand city of Anuradhapura was ruined by the Raja Raja Chola I's invasion. After that Raja Raja Chola himself had to shift the capital to Polonnaruwa. It was in 1070, Vijayabahu I unified the Island again. 

What now you go there to see is the leftover from this majestic grand city. Observe the meticulous details of Kuttam Pokuna to understand the attention to details of this era. It is an impressive site! Read about each separate sites before you go there if you really want to enjoy them.

You could clearly see the driving route to this destination from BI Airport on Google Map. Locations of local bus station, train stations, ATM machines and other tourist interests are also on the map. To have a clear view click "  " and then un-click "  " irrelevant layers. We constantly update our site with all those interesting facts.