The Sacred Places in Anuradhapura - A mini-guide for the history buff

This colossal structure can be dated back to the 1st century. It is the main attraction of the city. Equal to the Pyramids of Giza this building was at a point one of the tallest monuments in the old world. When built, this structure was a massive 100 metres tall but with time and decay it now stands up at a height of 75 metres. Once you cross the path through the jungle the first sighting of this temple is always breathtaking no matter how many times you visit it.

This is known to be the city's most spiritual attraction. The Sri Mahabodhi is the backbone of this religious city. This was brought over as a sapling, cut from the Bodhi tree in India and this tree is believed to be one of the oldest authenticated trees of its kind in history. This sacred bo tree has been taken care of and is guarded by special guards for over 2000 years and is one of the largest Buddhist pilgrimage attractions in the world. Most people look for an accommodation close to such attractions as it puts them in a central position to look around and travel to the many other sites in the area. A good way to travel across all the sites in this area as stated before would be to take a look at Sri Lanka car rental opportunities and check out agents such as Malkey Rent a Car.

This monument dates back to 140 BC and is a striking white building that is protected by a panel of 344 elephants that stand close to each other. Not all of these elephants belong to the original construction as some of them broke apart with time and weather and had to be replaced. Much damage was caused to this construction by invading foreign soldiers and now the structure is only 55 m stall but is still quite a very impressive and amazing sight to look at.

Built by a king in the 3rd century this huge dome is visible around the entire Eastern area of Anuradhapura. During the origin of construction, this structure is said to have been about 120 m tall and is now only about 70 m. When it was established, this structure was known to be the 3rd tallest building in the world closely following the great pyramids of Egypt.

Anuradhapura is a city that is full of culture and history and therefore the huge and amazing archaeological museum that is found there is a place you definitely must explore. You can find ancient coins, beads, jewellery and many other historic artefacts on display at this museum. This museum is open from 9:00 a.m. and closes at 5:00 p.m.