With Buddhist remnants, ancient cities and natural splendor, Sri Lanka is one of the finest
destinations in South Asia.
On our arrival to the country, we landed at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake and headed to Negombo. Negombo is a beautiful beach resort located by a beautiful lagoon of the same name on the west coast of Sri Lanka. Earlier it was a popular trading port and was ruled by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. Hence besides the scenic beaches of Negombo, it is also home to historic spots like a fort built by the Dutch and the churches and buildings structured by the Portuguese, during their rule. Without doubt, Negombo is often called "Little Rome" due to the existence of several Roman Catholic churches in its area.
The perfect way to travel within this country is road, as it will allow you to explore the lush green beauty along the roadside. A drive along the road through the rural villages of Sri Lanka, dotted with coconut plantations, banana trees, and paddy fields took us to Mihintale, the site where the first seed of Buddhism was planted on this island country, in around 247 BC.
Mihintale is where Mahinda, son of the great Emperor Ashoka preached the doctrine of Buddhism to Devanampiyatissa on a full moon night in June, who is then the king of Sri Lanka.
Polonnaruwa, is one of the finest archeological sites in Sri Lanka and a former capital from the 11th to the 13th centuries. At present, it has become one the best historical parks in the country with the royal palace, Atadage (Temple of the Tooth Relic), Gal Vihara (four gigantic rock sculpture cut from a single granite rock presenting the different postures of Buddha like sitting, standing, meditating and sleeping), Lankatilaka temple (a brick structure with a colossal Buddha), Thuparama (a Buddhist image house) and Thivanka House that has a three curved statues of Buddha.
Parakrama Samundra is a huge artificial lake and also another top tourist attraction of the country with large number of storks. Previously it was a man made reservoir that was utilized to provide water to the people living in the surrounding areas and the paddy fields. As the sun was drowning into the lake, we reached the lake side hotel for a night’s stay and a well deserved rest.
The following day we visited Sigiriya Lion Rock, which is a 200 m monolith towering above the jungle. During the 5th century, it had a rock fortress of King Kassapa which later became a Buddhist monastery, now set in three gardens. The site has the remains of an upper palace placed on the flat top of the rock, a mid-level terrace that involves the Lion Gate and the mirror wall and frescoes painted with lively colors. It is believed that the paintings of about 500 celestial nymphs were wiped out so that the monks did not get disturbed.
From Sigriya we headed to Dambulla, and the route was filled by scenic beauties and massive trees creating a canopy. After reaching Dambulla, we climbed 350 steps to reach the Raj Maha Vihara, which is a complex with five separate caverns including several statues of statues of Buddha and Hindu deities and there are ceilings have striking paintings of Jataka.
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