My travels abroad (9) Trip to Sri Lanka (3)

My travels abroad (9) Trip to Sri Lanka (3)

During my trip to Sri Lanka, since I made itinerary myself, I visited all 6 UNESCO heritage sites in country, enjoyed Sri Lanka to fullest, experienced cultural beauty there, and appreciated mysterious relics there are even more amazing over long history.

Drive north from Colombo and first arrive at sacred city of Anuradhapura, one of heritage sites. This is an ancient city built in fifth century BC. The tree trunk of path that became enlightened in 7 days and 7 nights came here to promote Buddhism and slowly flourished, forming Buddhist center of ancient country.

Entrance to sacred city of Anuradhapura, one of cultural heritage sites

White Tower of Anuradhapura

A boy playing in water at Anuradhapura

From here to east you will reach another heritage site, ancient city of Polonnaruwa, built in 11th century AD, which was also former capital. From existing ancient towers, temples and other relics, you can see past. The splendor of city allows you to fully imagine beauty this mysterious, garden-like city in past.

A corner of ruins of ancient city of Polonnaruwa, one of cultural heritage sites

Red Tower in Polonnaruwa

White Tower in Polonnaruwa

Leaving these two ancient cities, we traveled south to Sigiriya, one of cultural heritages, and climbed Lion Rock, a palace in sky in fifth century AD. This 200 meters high ancient castle is located in a flat area surrounded by greenery, it is very steep. Although it has been preserved, it is indulgent and majestic. You can imagine momentum of dominance in those days and world at her feet. In caves of its walls there are exquisite frescoes, majestic and beautiful in form, which are masterpieces of ancient art of Sri Lanka.

Lion Rock of Sigiriya, one of cultural heritage sites

Lion paws at Lion Rock

Exquisite frescoes in Lion Rock Cave

After leaving Lion Rock, we headed south to Golden Temple of Dambulla, which is also one of cultural heritage sites. The grottoes here are very famous and 4 of 5 caves are currently on display. The Buddha statues inside both lie, and Full Path Tree outside grotto also has almost a thousand years of history. This Golden Temple is a beautiful combination of ancient culture and art of Sri Lanka, showing charm of Buddhist art. It is also known as Borobudur in Indonesia, Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Ajanta Caves in India, which are also world cultural heritage.

The Golden Temple of Dambulla, one of cultural heritage sites

Dambulla Golden Temple Corridor

Dambulla Golden Temple Corner

In addition, holy city of Kandy, which we went to, was built in 14th century AD. It is located on a hillside, surrounded by mountains and rivers. Lake Kandy. The whole city has accumulated human talents in planning, architecture, sculpture, painting, music and dance, so city is full of beautiful scenery, and whole city is listed as a cultural heritage. The most famous temple in Kandy is Temple of Tooth Relic. When you enter Temple of Tooth Relic, it is magnificent. It is different from temples in Thailand. Temples in Thailand are majestic on outside and ordinary on inside, but this temple is ordinary on outside and majestic on inside. The relic of tooth of Buddha Shakyamuni collected here is national treasure of Sri Lanka and is shown to faithful three times a day as a sign of respect. Leaving Kandy, I also visited Huangjia Botanical Garden, where all kinds of trees rise and rise, with different shapes, and trees over a hundred years old can be seen everywhere.

The sacred city of Kandy, one of cultural heritage sites

A corner of sacred city of Kandy

Temple of Tooth Relic in Kandy

Pious worshipers at Temple of Tooth

Old trees of various shapes in botanical garden

Couple sitting on an old tree in a botanical garden

Corner of botanical garden

The ancient city of Galle, a seaside town in south of Sri Lanka, is also very distinctive. Here is an ancient castle by sea, cultural heritage, Galle Fort. Indian Ocean Looking at boundless ocean, heaven and earth are one.

One of objects of cultural heritage of Fort Galle

A corner of ancient city of Galle

Halle railway station

Galle Watchtower

Gail, a small town near southern Indian Ocean, made a deep impression on me. Except for sea, sunset glow, and imaginary sunset, old city that exists there is well preserved and full of European style. Walking along it, there is a special mood, it is worth going.

Corner of Galle Coast