The Perfect craftsmanship of the ancients at Gal Viharaya – Polonnaruwa
The solid rock Hetadage Dalada Maligawa of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom
The Elephant Gathering at Minneriya National Park
Novice monks on a field visit to the gigantic Yudaganawa Stupa in Buttala.
built before Christ, the stupa house at Medirigiya is one of the best examples of such architecture demonstrating the ability of the ancients to form the rocks them as easily like wood.
The misty Duwili Ella waterfall at Kaltota
Mahiyangana Stupa, built on the very spot blessed by the Buddha’s presence is the first stupa to be built during the time of Buddha around 5th century BC
Fresh vegetables straight out of the fields of Nuwara Eliya
A lone tusker takes a walk along a waterhole at Yala National Park
A leopard hides in a shade after a hefty meat at Yala National Park
A group of Elephants Taking a dip in a partially dried up water hole before retiring for the day at Udawalawe National Park
Early in the morning a peacock calling for a mate at Udawalawe National Park
Sri Lanka has a documented history that spans over 3,000 years, but there are facts to suggest that Sri Lanka had pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbors made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka is a diverse country, home to many religions, ethnicities and languages. It is the land of the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon, dates back to the Fourth Buddhist Council in 29 BCE.
The purpose of this site is to create a deeper awareness of all the attractions of Sri Lanka thus develop a richer appreciation of what our ancestors and nature has provided us with.
SRI LANKA IS HOME TO ONE OF OLDEST CIVILIZATIONS IN THE WORLD WITH A WRITTEN HISTORY COVERING THE LAST 2600 YEARS.
SRI LANKAN CIVILIZATION WAS NATURED AND NOURISHED BY BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY AND WAS BUILT ON A THEME KNOWN AS “WAWAI DAGOBAI, GAMAI PANSALAI” WHICH SIMPLY MEANS EVERY VILLAGE CONSISTED OF A IRRIGATION TANK, A BUDDHIST TEMPLE AND A STUPA.
HERITAGE OF SRI LANKA
Somapura Paschimarama Rajamaha Viharaya Archaeological Site – සෝමපුර පස්චිමාරාම රජමහා විහාරය පුරාවිද්යා නටඹුන්Somapura lies on the road between Kantale – Serunuwara road in Trincomalee District. The Paschimarama Rajamaha Viharaya is located about 2.3 km away from from Somapura junction on the Kantale […]
Somawathi Kompittugala Archaeology Site – සෝමාවතී කෝම්පිට්ටුගල පුරාවිද්යා නටඹුන්Kompittugala Archaeology site lies inside the Somawathi National Park on the island created at the at the main forking of Mahaweli Ganga inside the National Park. This area is also known as Sinnavilluwa by the locals. […]
Wattarama Sri Arahantha Maliyadeva Rajamaha Viharaya – වට්ටාරම ශ්රී අරහන්ත මලියදේව රජමහා විහාරයWattarama Sri Arahantha Maliyadeva Rajamaha Viharaya is an temple with a history of over 2300 years lying between Polgahawela and Kegalle. This temple is so named due to its close association with Maliyadeva thero who is believed to be last Maha Arahath of Sri Lanka. […]
Panduwasnuwara Ancient Kingdom – පඬුවස්නුවර රාජධානියPanduwasnuwara is an ancient city in the Kurunegala area which functioned as the capital of Sri Lanka for a very brief period. King Parakramabahu set up his temporary capital in this city during the 12th century. […]
Panda Wewa – The First man made Reservoir in the World – ලොව මුල්ම අංග සම්පුර්ණ වැව වන පඬාවැව සහ එහි නටබුණ්Panda wewa, lying close to the ancient kingdom of Panduwasnuwara is believed to be the oldest man made reservior in the world built by King Panduwasdeva (504-474 BC) in 450 BC for irrigation as well as for daily use by the citizens of Panduwasnuwara. […]
WILDLIFE IN SRI LANKA
Kande Ela Forest Park – කන්දේ ඇල වනෝද්යානයDriving past the picturesque road to Horton Plains from Nuwara Eliya, just has you pass Kande Ela reservoir you will come across the Kande Ela Forest Park (aka Kande Ela Forest Garden), an forested area developed for education purposes by the Department of Forest Conservation. […]
Kokilai Lagoon Sanctuary – කෝකිලායි අභය භූමියKokkilai Lagoon is partly surrounded by mangrove swamps and sea grass beds. The surrounding area includes cultivated land, scrub and open forests. Numerous varieties of water and wader birds are found in the sanctuary including cormorants, ducks, egrets, flamingoes, herons, ibis, pelicans and storks. […]
Nilgala Conservation Forest Area – නිල්ගල වනාන්තරයNilgala Forest which is lowland tropical dry mixed evergreen forest lies on the boarders of the Senanayake Samuraya covering area which the Gal Oya River falls in to the reservoir. […]
Weheragala Reservoir and Archeological Ruins – වෙහෙරගල වැව හා පුරා විද්යා ස්මාරකThe Weheragala Reservoir was built in 2009 by damming the Menik Ganga at Weheragala to store and divert the excess water of Menik Ganga to Lunugamvehera Reservoir to supplement the water collected from Kirindi Oya. […]
Whale watching in Sri LankaWhile the world was counting whales elsewhere a small population of whales around Sri Lanka, was growing unseen and unchecked by everybody due to the 30 years of old terrorist war. […]
WATERFALLS OF SRI LANKA
Labookellie Estate Waterfall – ලබුකැලේ වතුයාය ඇල්ලThe 50+ meter tall Labookellie Estate Waterfall cascades in two steps inside the Labookellie Estate and can be seen just above a strawberry shop by the Ramboda - Nuwara Eliya Road […]
Halgolla Hakkkunu Ella Waterfall – හල්ගොල්ල හක්කුණු ඇල්ලHeight : 30 meters District : Kandy Hakkunu Ella waterfall is an unknown waterfall in the Poojapitiya Divisional Secretariat in the Kandy District. Hidden inside a small patch of forest in a tea […]
Pitabeddara Viharamaldeniya Ella Falls – පිටබැද්දර විහාරමල්දෙණිය ඇල්ලHeight :8 meters District : Matara Viharamaldeniya Ella is rather unknown to the outside other than to the villagers in the immediate vicinity of the falls. The water falls in 2 two steps in as wide […]
Pitabeddara Kudalu Dola Ella Falls – පිටබැද්දර කූඩළු දොල ඇල්ලHeight : 10 meters District : Matara Kudalu Dola Ella is rather unknown to the outside other than to the villagers in the immediate vicinity of the falls. The water falls at a angle in a number of […]
Rotumba Biso Ella Falls – රොටුඹ බිසෝ ඇල්ල (බිසෝමළ ඇල්ල | බිසෝදොළ ඇල්ල)The enchanting Rotumba Biso Ella (Bisodola Ella, Bisomala Ella) is 15-20 meters high and is located in the village named Rotumba in the Matara District. Access to this waterfall is about 2 Km from Rotumba. […]
CONSIDERED THE LOST PARADISE BY ANCIENT TRAVELERS DUE TO WHAT NATURE HAS OFFERED IN FORM OF PRISTINE BEACHES TO ROMANTIC LANDSCAPES GOVERNED BY RISING MOUNTAINS, LUSH FORESTS, TANKS AS LARGE AS OCEANS AND ROAMING ANIMALS, SOME MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS WHO FIRST LANDED IN SRI LANKA BELIEVED THAT THEY HAVE DISCOVERED THE ORIGINAL GARDEN OF EDEN.
NATURE AND OTHER ATTRACTIONS OF SRI LANKA
Bandarawela Porogala View Point – බණ්ඩාරවෙල පොරෝගල නැරඹුම් ස්ථානයMahaulpotha is a charming little town 3.5 km off Bandarawela. Porogala viewpoint is an amazing viewpoint in Mahaulpotha little known to the general public. So named due the rock resembling a axe head, you coud have a clear view of Bandarawela, Kinigama, Diyathalawa, Heel oya, railway line and peaks of Nuwara Eliya. […]
Sand Dunes of Kavutharimunai in Pooneryn Peninsula – පූනරීන් කවුතරිමුනෙයි වැලිපරIf you take the lesser traveled route to Jaffna through Pooneryn, There are number of places which you could visit on the Sand Bar (Pooneryn Peninsula) below the Jaffna Peninsula. This land mass is […]
Keerimale (Keerimalai) Limestone Caves in Jaffna – යාපනය පෙරිය මන්ඩපම් හුනුගල් ගුහා සංකීර්ණයAn unkown small limestone cave can be found in Keeramale just before the Nakuleswaram Kovil near the freshwater spring. The cave lies in a bare land covered in scrub jungle just before the kovil. This is rather unknown and best obtain a villager to explore this site. […]
Periya Mandapam Limestone Caves in Jaffna – යාපනය පෙරිය මන්ඩපම් හුනුගල් ගුහා සංකීර්ණයThe limestone caves at Periya Mandapam is a true wonder of nature. A large open pit exposes a circle of caverns spreading in all directions. A large Tamarind (Siyambala) Tree stands at the center of the pit providing a natural roof for the caves. […]
Pokkanai Bottomless Well in Jaffna – යාපනය පොක්කනයි නොසිඳෙන ලිඳThe Pokkanai Bottomless Well is is caused by collapse of the top layer, exposing a limestone cavern connected to a underground water source. It is said that this well never dries up even during severe drought and the water is used by the farmers in the surrounding area. […]
ANCIENT IRRIGATION WONDERS OF SRI LANKA
- Panda Wewa – The First man made Reservoir in the World – ලොව මුල්ම අංග සම්පුර්ණ වැව වන පඬාවැව සහ එහි නටබුණ්Panda wewa, lying close to the ancient kingdom of Panduwasnuwara is believed to be the oldest man made reservior in the world built by King Panduwasdeva (504-474 BC) in 450 BC for irrigation as well as for daily use by the citizens of Panduwasnuwara. […]
Pavakkulama (Pavatkulama) Reservoir in Vavuniya – වව්නියාවේ පාවක්කුලම වැවPavakkulama Reservoir is the largest ancient reservoir found in Vavuniya district. According to a notice board installed by the Irrigation Department, Its embankment is 10,364 feet (3.2 km) long and has a gross capacity of 27,000 acre feet (33 million cubic meters). […]
Iratperiyakulama Reservoir – ඊරට්ටපෙරියකුලම (ඉරට්පෙරියකුලම) වැවThe Iratperiyakulama Wewa (reservoir) is the second largest reservoir in the Vavuniya district second only to Maha Pawakkulama Wewa which was created by joining Pawakkulama Wewa and the Ulukkulama Wewa. […]
Ancient Mamaduwa Wewa – වව්නියාවේ මාමඩුව වැවThe massive Mamaduwa reservoir with a 2km long embankment was built in the 6th century by king Aggabodhi I and has been renovated by many kings thereafter. […]
Tampitiya Reservoir Ancient Bisokotuwa and Sluice in Mahaoya – මහඔය ටැම්පිටිය වැව පුරාණ බිසෝකොටුව සහ සොරොව්වTempitiya Reservoir is credited to king Saddhatissa (137-119 BC) of Anuradhapura kingdom and said to have been restored by the British in 1838 making it one of the first ancient reservoirs to be restored by the British in the Ampara District. […]
IT IS VERY LIKELY THAT THE FIRST SETTLERS FROM INDIA HAD REACHED SRI LANKA AT LEAST AS EARLY AS ONE MILLION YEARS AGO – PERHAPS EARLIER.
BY ABOUT 125,000 BP IT IS CERTAIN THAT THERE WERE PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENTS IN SRI LANKA FROM THE EVIDENCE DISCOVERED AT BUNDALA. NUMBER OF CAVE SITES HAS BEEN DISCOVERED WITH EVIDENCE OF PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENTS HAS BEEN FOUND AROUND THE COUNTRY.
PREHISTORIC SRI LANKA
Mayakkai Prehistoric Limestone Caves in Jaffna – යාපනය මායක්කායි ප්රාග් ඓතිහාසික හිරිගල් ගුහාA couple of limestone caves in Mayakkai, Jaffna peninsula from which prehistoric stone hand axes have been discovered. No proper scientific research has been carried out at this site yet. […]
Agbopura Megalithic (Sumerian) Ancient Burial Site – අග්බෝපුර මෙගලිතික (සුමේරියන්) ආදි මානව සුසාන භූමියThe Megalithic Burial Ground at Agbopura in Vavuniya district was first discovered in 1970s and it was reported at almost 100 burials have been discovered spread over an area of 25 acres. […]
Haldummulla Prehistoric Canoe Burial Site – හල්දුමුල්ල ආදී මානව සුසාන භූමියA pre historic burial site discovered 2011 which is believed to be dating to 14th century BC. 5 clay burial canoes were discovered on the narrow access road to of Hadummulla Tamil School. […]
Minuwangoda Dewapola Prehistoric Canoe Burial Site – මිනුවන්ගොඩ දෙවලපොල ආදී මානව සුසාන භූමියThe Prehistoric Burial Site of Dewalapola in Minuwangoda was discovered in 2016 on the premises of Dewalapola Ananda Maha Vidyalaya. Two clay burial canoe has been discovered on the access path to […]
Uda Ranchamadama Prehistoric House Site – උඩ රංචමඩම ආදී මානව නිවාසයRanchamadama is a remote village in Kolonna area which unheard by many until early 2000’s, when the Ranchamadama Vidyalaya dug its land for a foundation of a new building, and discovered some […]