Heritage tourism attraction in Sri Lanka

  Located in Kandy's   Royal Palace complex, the gold-roofed Temple of the Tooth houses the most important relic in Sri Lanka; the Buddha’s tooth. Visitors are unable to see the legendary tooth as it’s hidden away in a gold casket which contains a series of six caskets diminishing in size. However, the complex is still magnificent to visit and comprises of pretty temples and shrines overlooking shimmering Kandy Lake.

  Trincomalee   in the Eastern Province is home to one of Sri Lanka’s most revered temples; Kandasamy Kovil. The temple sits on the rocky coastline and was established to protect the teardrop island from natural disaster. It is also dedicated to Shiva and is home to intricate and colourful statues of Hindu gods such as Ganesh. A 130m-high cliff, known as ‘Lovers’ Leap’ after a Dutch woman is said to have jumped in the 17th century, sits to the side of the temple and is a great place to spot blue whales passing through the sapphire ocean.

  Sigiriya  or  Sinhagiri   is an ancient rock  located in the northern Matale District  near the town of Dambulla  in the central    province  , sri lanka . The name refers to a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column  of rock around 180 metres (590 ft) high. According to the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle the   culavamsa , this site was selected by King   kashyapa (477 – 495 AD) for his new capital. He built his palace on the top of this rock and decorated its sides with colourful   frescoes . On a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion.  The capital and the royal palace were abandoned after the king's death. It was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century.Sigiriya today is a UNESCO listed world heritage site. It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning...

  This is located about 30km towards the Kaytes island from the Jaffna town. This temple is one of the three places in Sri Lanka where lord Buddha has visited .“Purana Vihara” was constructed by the two warring naga kings ,Mahodara and his nephew Chullodara, at the site where lord Buddha during his second visit to Sri Lanka. Lord Buddha has mediated in setting a dispute over the possession of a gem-studded throne. This precious throne who was offered to the Buddha, was returned by him to the naga kings and was later enshrined in stupa located next to the temple.  Many objects of historical significance have been found around the area. The beautiful “Naga Vihara” is also situated in the heart of the city. It is famous religious place of visit to Buddhist visiting “Nagadeepa raja maha vihara” is another unforgettable experience one could ever have. This temple is situated in an island called “Nainativu” away from the country land because of that the visit to this temple is suppo...

  Kelaniya Temple believed to had been built in the era prior to the chronologically recorded history of Sir Lanka (since 543 B.C) was renovated by Prince Uttiya, brother of King Devanampiyatissa following the arrival Arahat Mahinda in 307 BC. According to the Mahawansa, King Devanampiyatissa’s brother Uttiya renovated the vihara for the first time. Prince Uttiya also built the first ever residential quarters of the Buddhist monks (Sanghawasa) there. The ancient temple was destroyed time and again by the Dravidian invaders from Southern India. Each time the temple had been reconstructed. The medieval temple was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1510 yet reconstructed by King Kirthi Sri Rajasingha in the year 1967. New Temple was initiated in 1927 and completed in 1946 under the patronage of philanthropist Mrs. Helena Wijewardene.

  Polonnaruwa was the first declared capital city by King Vijayabahu, who defeated Chola invaders in 1070 to reunite the nation once more under a local leader. During the time of the great King Parakramabahu who led the country between the times of 1153 – 1186 sustained such heroic scales in rice cultivation by constructing the massive irrigation network with reservoirs that look like natural in land seas. Sri Lanka became known as the Granary of the Orient. Polonnaruwa consists of ruins of the glorious kingdom of the Great King Parakramabahu. The richness and the glamor of this kingdom are still evident. Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best planned archaeological relic sites in the country, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the Kingdom’s first rulers.  time of King Parakramabahu was considered as the Golden Age of Polonnaruwa. Trade and agriculture flourished under the patronage of the king, who was so adamant that no drop of water...

  The area is thought to be inhabited from as early as the 7th to 3rd century BC. Statues and paintings in these caves date back to the 1st century BC. But the paintings and statues were repaired and repainted in the 11th, 12th, and 18th century AD. The caves in the city provided refuge to  king valagamba (also called   Vattagamini Abhaya ) in his 14-year-long exile from the  Anuradapura   kingdom.  Buddhist   monks   meditating in the caves of Dambulla at that time provided the exiled king protection from his enemies. When King Valagamba returned to the throne at Anuradapura kingdom in the 1st century BC, he had a magnificent rock temple built at Dambulla in gratitude to the monks in Dambulla. At the Ibbankatuwa Prehistoric burial site near Dhambulla, prehistoric (2700 years old) human skeletons were found on scientific analysis to give evidence of civilisations in this area long before the arrival of Buddhism   in Sri Lanka. Evidence of anc...

  Anuradhapura , city , north-central Sri Lanka.  It is situated along the Aruvi Aru River. The old section of Anuradhapura, now preserved as an archaeological park and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site  in 1982, is the best known of Sri Lanka’s ancient ruined cities. In the immediate vicinity are huge bell-shaped dagobas (Buddhist commemorative shrines, or stupas) built of small sun-dried bricks as well as temples, sculptures, palaces, and ancient drinking-water reservoirs. The city also contains an ancient pipal tree that is believed to have originally been a branch of the Bo   tree  at Bodh Gaya  (Bihar, India), under which Gauthama Buddha  attained Enlightenment. The Bo tree branch was planted at Anuradhapura about 245  BCE , and it may be the oldest tree in existence for which there is any historical record.