Tour of Northern Sri Lanka

I had arranged with the Kim Kim agency in California for a 5–day private tour of Northern Sri Lanka that would start at the end of my Gate 1 tour. They contacted a travel agency in Colombo to set up my tour. I decided on places that I wanted to visit by looking at some websites and also going over my itinerary with my friend in Colombo, Mahendra (Mahen), who I had met on a European tour and who convinced me to visit his country and also that I should see Northern Sri Lanka which wasn’t part of my Gate 1 tour. I have marked a map of Sri Lanka with my itinerary.

Tour of Northern Sri Lanka

Closer–up of my itinerary.

Colombo

My private guide, Solomon, an older man, picked me up at my hotel early in the morning to start my adventure. I wasn’t completely alone on my tour as I was in contact by phone and by email with Mahen and Mahen was in contact by phone with Solomon. Solomon didn’t talk much, but when he did, he was very informative as to the places we were visiting. Leaving Colombo, we passed the Rickshaw Statue of a local laborer pulling a rickshaw with an “arrogant, pipe–smoking colonial” in it––not very complimentary of Sri Lanka’s colonial past.

Sri Lanka Roads

Our drive from Colombo to our destination of Anuradhapura (137 miles, 220 km) was approximately 5 hours including a rest stop and lunch. I was finding out the difference between being on a big tour bus versus being in a car. Most of the roads are two–lane and the faster vehicles are continually passing the slower vehicles––the tuk tuks and the motorscooters being at the bottom in speed. The passing vehicles are passing in your lane and you just hope they get back in their own lane before they hit you head–on. It didn’t take long before my nerves were shot but I didn’t freak out because I able to become somewhat comatose. It got worse––add on cows, dogs, wild donkeys, monkeys, bicycles, people, etc., crossing in front of the car. I also was somewhat disorientated by having the traffic traveling on the left side of the road when I am used to just the opposite. 

Religions of Sri Lanka

As we had already seen on our Gate 1 tour, religion is very important in Sri Lanka, and on the road, their four major religions––Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam––are in constant view. Photo: At the entrance to a village.

Religions of Sri Lanka

Passing a Hindu temple.

Religions of Sri Lanka

Passing a Buddhist stupa.

Religions of Sri Lanka

Passing a Muslim mosque.

Rest Stop

We made rest stops and stops for lunch on our drives. Solomon didn’t join me at my table for either. At our first rest stop, I had a very tasty watermelon juice served in a watermelon rind.

Countryside

The countryside between Colombo and our destination today of Anuradhapura was rustic and enjoyable.

Countryside

A pretty scene that we passed.

I have put my photos of our drive from Colombo to Anuradhapura on a slideshow. Go to  http://www.peggysphotos.com/colombo–to–anuradhapura/  (Slide Shows, Asia–2, Sri Lanka, “Colombo to Anuradhapura”).

Anuradhapura

After lunch, we visited ancient Anuradhapura. Anuradhapura was founded in 377 BC and was occupied until the 11th century AD, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It was the capital of the Sinhalese and is a sacred Buddhist site. It is one of the major archaeological sites in Sri Lanka and is a World Heritage Site. Photo: The Ruwanweli Maha Seya which was built in 140 BC and is one of the tallest ancient monuments at 338 feet (103 m) in height.

Bodhi Tree

The sacred Bodi Tree of Vessavana, planted in the fourth century BC by King Pandukabhaya, is said to be the southern branch from the Sri Maha Bodhi in India under which Buddha gained Enlightenment.

Myura Priwena

Most of the ruins at Anuradhapura are ancient monasteries, such as the Myura Priwena, 340–368 AD, though many are much older than Myura Priwena.

Ancient Ruins

Photo of ancient ruins at Anuradhapura.

Lankaramaya Stupa

Another of the stupas at Anuradhapura is the Lankaramaya Stupa. It originally had 88 pillars (some shown in the photo) for a vatadage, a roofed hall, that surrounded the stupa. It was built by King Walagamba, 104–103 BC, in memory of Silasobha Khandaka, where he had hid from his enemies and later destoyed them.

Moonstone

A moonstone, a sandakada pahana, is at the bottom of the stairs in this photo. A moonstone is unique to Sinhalese ancient architecture. The semi–circular sandakada pahana symbolizes the cyle of Samsara in Buddhism, which is life on earth, filled with sorrow and pain. It was different from the moonstone that we had seen at the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.

Abayagiri Stupa

Jetavana Stupa

Rajarata Hotel

After visiting Anuradhapura, we drove to my hotel, the Rajarata, a very nice one. Solomon didn’t stay at the hotels that I stayed at, but, rather, dropped me off and then picked me back up the next morning. All my dinners were included and there was a good buffet for dinner. Photo: Relief at the hotel.