TM Lanka Tours

Located around 200 km from Colombo, the historic city of Anuradhapura is an essential stop on any tour of Sri Lanka. This city is one of eight World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Considered the cradle of Theravada Buddhism, its vast network of ancient Buddhist temples, monasteries and places of worship which cover over 40 sq kms has made it a sacred site to Buddhists around the world. Anuradhapura was the ancient capital city of Sri Lanka for nearly 14 Centuries. It was King Pandukabhaya (4th Century BC) who upgraded Anuradhapura. It was a Brahmin Jothiya who did the town planning. There were hospitals with medicinal troughs, and toilet systems at meditation centres. At the peak of its development, the city was of equal size as that of the Greater London area today. Anuradhapura was served by three main city tanks, namely Abhaya Wewa (or Basawakkulama), Nuwara Wewa and Tissawewa which are used for both irrigation and domestic use.