If you're visting the cities of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla or Sigiriya, you could make day trips out of these.
Anuradhapura is a world heritage site and is the largest monsatic city in the world. Ruled over in its time by no less than 113 Kings, you must take a look at the Shri Maha Bodhi tree - the tree underw hich Buddha apparently got enlightenment in India. The Brazen Palace, the temples of Buddha, pleasure gardens, twin ponds, more palaces are all right here in Anuradhapura.
Polonnaruwa, a medieval city, was important even in the times of Anuradhpura since it strategically commanded all crossings over the Mahaveli River and was the first buffer against invading armies. The Parakrama Samudra is an irrigation tank covering an area of 5,940 acres justifying its name - Parakrama Sea. The summer and royal palaces of the Kings, a library museum with great acoustics, the baths where the ladies of the court washed, an unusual stepped pyramid form stupa, and lots more to spend a busy day.
Dambulla has the famous cave temple dating back to 1st century BC. The caves carved with a dripline to keep the interiors dry and painted with intricate designs of gods and goddesses and Lord Budhha and his disciples.
The Sigiriya rock fortress is an impressive 600 feet rock, almost inaccessible looming over jungles. In its day it was a courtly setting for pavillions and gardens and pools. The natural defences were further augmented with by moats and stone perimeter walls. Bricks were used to fashion the rock into the semblance of a lion of which only the paws remain. Sigiriya has lovely water gardens with pools and baths, boulder gardens, terrace gardens, an awesome mirror wall with nearly 1500 prose and poetry scribbled over it by ancient visitors, a palace on the summit and frescoes of "the cloud damsels" which are the highlight of Sigiriya.
Kandy is the last kingdom city of Sri Lanka which withstood European invaders for over 2 centuries. The Kandy lake is the focal point of a city brimming with people, narrow streets, old buildings, colorful markets and character. The high altitude makes Kandy a pleasant city to discover while walking. It houses the famous Buddhist relic - the tooth of Lord Buddha. There are botanical gardens and a wooden structure carved with mythical figures, temples with elaborate stone and woodwork.
Unpredictable storms are behind the founding of the Galle Fort. A Portuguese ship blown off course resulted in a small fort being built in Galle. This bit of history was completely destroyed by the Dutch in 1640 and we can only forgive them since they went on to build the 36-hectare fort in 1663 which is now a world heritage site. The You can also wander into the Dutch church which has a floor paved with gravestones and an organ from 1760 still on display.
Picture Courtesy: www.flickr.com
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