Anuradhapura and Mihintale, where Buddhism came to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's ancient chronicles tell the story of how Buddhism arrived on the island. In the third century BC, the great Indian emperor Ashoka, who had embraced Buddhism, sent his son Mahinda, a monk, to bring the teaching to Sri Lanka. Mahinda, the story goes, met the Sinhalese king Devanampiya Tissa on a hill near the royal capital, where the king was out hunting deer. After testing the king's intelligence with a series of riddles, Mahinda preached to him, and the king and his court were converted. The hill became Mihintale, the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and the island has remained a stronghold of Theravada Buddhism ever since.

Mihintale

Mihintale is still a place of pilgrimage, especially at the full moon of June, the festival of Poson, which commemorates Mahinda's arrival. Pilgrims climb a long, broad stairway of stone steps, more than a thousand of them, shaded by frangipani trees, to the hilltop. At the top are white stupas, the ruins of a monastery, caves where monks once lived, and the flat rock on which Mahinda is said to have preached. From the top of the rock, the view stretches over the forests and reservoirs of the dry zone to the great stupas of Anuradhapura on the horizon.

The steps and the rock are climbed barefoot, as at all Buddhist sites in Sri Lanka, and the stone can become extremely hot by midday. It is best to go early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura was the capital of Sri Lanka for well over a thousand years, from the fourth century BC to the early eleventh century AD, when invaders from southern India sacked it and the capital moved to Polonnaruwa. At its height it was one of the largest cities in Asia, a great centre of Buddhist learning, with vast monasteries housing thousands of monks, and a sophisticated system of irrigation. Huge man-made reservoirs, called tanks, stored the monsoon rains for the dry months, and several of them are still in use today.

The most sacred place in the city is the Sri Maha Bodhi, a fig tree said to have grown from a branch of the tree in India under which the Buddha attained enlightenment, brought to the island by Ashoka's daughter, the nun Sanghamitta. It is said to be the oldest living tree planted by humans with a recorded date, and it is surrounded by railings, golden supports for its branches and a constant stream of pilgrims in white, bringing flowers and offerings.

Around the city stand the great stupas, the dagobas, domes of brick covered in white plaster, built over relics. Ruwanwelisaya, gleaming white, is one of the most revered. Jetavanaramaya, built in the third century AD, was among the tallest structures in the ancient world, a brick dome rising well over a hundred metres in its original form. It is still enormous. The city's ruins, in the open parkland around the modern town, are a World Heritage Site, and exploring them by bicycle is a pleasure.

Isurumuniya, a rock temple on the edge of a reservoir in the south of the old city, is a quieter place to end a visit. Carved into the rock face beside the pool are elephants bathing in the water. In the small museum is one of the finest carvings in Sri Lanka, a pair of figures known as the Isurumuniya Lovers, often thought to represent a prince and a girl he loved. Sitting by the water in the evening, with monkeys in the trees and the stupas beyond, is a peaceful way to end the day.

The tours that go

Explore Worldwide's Sri Lanka in Depth, fourteen nights, includes Anuradhapura and Mihintale with Wilpattu National Park, the standing Buddha of Aukana, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, the elephants of Minneriya and Kaudulla, Sigiriya and Kandy.

Explore Worldwide's Highlights of Sri Lanka, six nights, includes both, along with Trincomalee on the east coast, Dambulla, Sigiriya, Kandy and Colombo. Explore Worldwide's Active Sri Lanka, thirteen nights, combines them with Chilaw, Wilpattu, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa and the Knuckles mountains.

Dress modestly at the sacred sites, with shoulders and knees covered, and remove shoes and hats where asked. And at the Bodhi tree, take a moment simply to watch the pilgrims. It has been venerated for more than two thousand years.