A sacred city of giant stupas, ancient trees, and timeless devotion

Step into Anuradhapura, and you step into the spiritual heartbeat of Sri Lanka — a city where history, religion, and daily life blend into a living landscape of sacred ruins. As the island’s first capital and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Anuradhapura is not just a museum of stone — it’s a place still pulsing with prayer.

Founded over 2,000 years ago, the city served as a center of Sinhalese power and Buddhist learning for more than a millennium. Today, its vast archaeological park holds some of the most impressive religious monuments in South Asia: towering dagobas (stupas) like Ruwanwelisaya, Abhayagiri, and Jetavanarama, each rising skyward like silent giants, built by ancient kings and worshipped by generations since.

At the heart of it all stands the Sri Maha Bodhi — a sacred fig tree grown from a cutting of the tree under which the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. Planted in the 3rd century BC, it is one of the oldest historically documented trees in the world, tended by an unbroken line of caretakers for over two thousand years. Pilgrims gather beneath its branches daily, lighting lamps, offering flowers, and whispering prayers carried by the breeze.

As you explore, you’ll pass monastic ruins, bathing pools, moonstones, and meditation halls, all spread across a vast, shaded plain dotted with ancient banyans and frangipani trees. Unlike many archaeological sites, Anuradhapura remains alive — not just preserved, but practiced, with monks chanting, bells ringing, and families in white offering worship.



To walk through Anuradhapura is to walk through Sri Lanka’s soul — a journey into its beginnings, its beliefs, and its enduring reverence for the sacred. Whether you’re drawn by faith, history, or the sheer beauty of age, this ancient city invites quiet reflection beneath its stupas and stars.