Ritigala Stone Bridge (රිටිගල ගල් පාලම)

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In 2023, archaeologists discovered an ancient Stone Bridge (Gal Palama) between Uththupitiya village and Ganewal Pola village on the border of Tirappane Divisional Secretariat Division and Kekirawa Divisional Secretariat Division of Anuradhapura District at the foot of the Ritigala Mountains across the origin of the Malwathu Oya.

This stone bridge was discovered during a site inspection conducted jointly by Manakanda and Ritigala zone officials. Built in a very narrow place at the beginning of Malwatu Oya, it is 30 feet long and approximately 06 feet wide. According to known facts, there is evidence that this stone bridge may have been built through a side road that joined the main road between Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa from the Ganewalpola area.

About 900 meters away from this place, the ruins of an ancient Ambalama were also identified by the Department of Archeology. According to the archaeological factors and literary sources around the area, this area is a special junction of the main road system between the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa kingdoms.

Note that the marker on the Google Map below is only directed to the approximate area.

Other Stone Bridges of Sri Lanka

There are many stone bridges discovered in Sri Lanka. These are in various states while some have been conserved to an extent. The most popular is the bridge over the Malwathu Oya.

Alubedda Stone Bridge
Angammedilla National Park Stone Bridge (Polonnaruwa)
Ebawalapitiya Gal Palama (Stone Bridge) over Deduru Oya
Girihandu Seya Stone Bridge (Tiriyaya)
Habagama Stone Bridge
Halpan Ela Stone Bridge (Anuradhapura)
Kayankerni Stone Bridge (Eastern Province)
Mahakanadarawa Wewa Stone Bridge (Mihintale)
Nirawiya Farm Gal Palama (Thambuttegama)
Palugaswewa Stone Bridge
Pavakkulam Stone Bridge (Vavuniya)
Perimiyankulama Gal Palama over Malwathu Oya (Anuradhapura)
Ritigala Gal Palama (Anuradhapura)
Sukara Nijjara Gal Amuna and Stone Bridge
Thimbiripokuna Palamgala Gal Palama
Thirappane Stone Bridge
Thulawelliya Stone Bridge
Ullukkulama Stone Bridge
Vannadi Palama (Vannadi Stone Bridge) and Amuna
Weliela Mankada Stone Bridge
Yanoya Stone Bridge

Also See

Map of Ritigala Stone Bridge

Please click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map (ගූගල් සිතියම් පහලින්)

Show Location (ගූගල් සිතියම)

The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites

Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.

Driving Directions to Ritigala Stone Bridge

Route from Habarana to Ritigala Stone Bridge

Distance : 20 km
Travel time : 25 minutes
Driving directions : see on Google map

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Uva World War Memorial in Badulla (ඌව ලෝක සංග්‍රාමයේ යුද්ධ ස්මාරකය)
The War Memorial for the veterans from the Uva region who had laid down their lives between 1914 and 1917 in the 1st World War at Badulla stands inside the property of historic St. Marks Church which was built as a memorial for Major Thomas William Rogers (the Government Agent for Badulla District) considered one of the most prolific hunters of Sri Lankan elephants. […]
World War I Memorial in Matale (මාතලේ පළවන ලෝක සංග්‍රාමයේ යුද්ධ ස්මාරකය)
In Matale, there is a granite obelisk similar to the World War I obelisk memorials in Galle and Avissawella. However, there is no inscription found on this memorial. The brass place which was fixed to this memorial was removed by vandals long ago. Some contend that this memorial is dedicated to Gogalegoda Banda, the leader of the 1848 Matale Rebellion, who was executed by the British. […]
Kelani Valley War Memorial in Avissawella (අවිස්සාවේල්ලේ කැලණිවැලි පළමුවන ලෝක යුද්ධ ස්මාරකය)
The Kelani Valley War Memorial, erected to commemorate the men from the Kelani Valley who lost their lives in the Great War, was ceremoniously opened by the Government Agent of Western Province on 22nd March 1921. The grey granite obelisk memorial was originally erected at the junction of Yatiyanthota and Rathnapura Roads in Avissawella. […]
First World War Memorial in Galle (ගාල්ල පළමුවන ලෝක යුද්ධ ස්මාරකය)
At the entrance of the Galle Fort stands a granite obelisk, serving as a war memorial. On February 28, 1921, Mr. R.B. Hellings, Government Agent of the Southern Province, unveiled this memorial. It was erected to honour the servicemen from the Galle District who sacrificed their lives during World War I (1914-1919), with their names engraved upon it. […]
Cenotaph War Memorial in Colombo (කොළඹ ලෝක යුද්ධ ස්මාරකය)
The Cenotaph War Memorial at the Public Library near the Vihara Maha Devi Park in Colombo is considered the main World War Memorial in Sri Lanka. It consists of a cenotaph and a memorial wall around it. The original memorial was commissioned by the War Memorial Committee after the conclusion of World War I in 1920. […]
Padukka First World War Peace Memorial (පාදුක්ක පළමු ලෝක යුද්ධයේ සාම ස්මාරකය)
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Boer Prisoners of War Memorial in Diyathalawa (දියතලාව බෝයර් යුද සිරකරුවන්ගේ ස්මාරකය)
In 1913, just before World War I, the South African Government built this obelisk memorial on the Diyatalawa grounds to commemorate the 140 Boer prisoners who died at the prisoner-of-war of Diyathalawa. On three sides of it, marble slabs with leaded lettering display a full list of all these Boer prisoners-of-war who lost their lives in captivity or on parole. […]
Kurullangala Prehistoric Cave Art Site at Karandagolla (ප්‍රාග් ඓතිහාසික කුරුල්ලන්ගල ලෙන් චිත්‍ර)
Close the road between Oyamaduwa and Tanthirimale lies the Navodagama Archaeology Site which consist of granite base pillars of a Tampita Vihara ( a temple on pillars) and remains of a ancient stupa and other ruins. […]
Demali Ella Falls : Twin Falls (දෙමලි ඇල්ල)
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Windy Corner Falls at Blackpool (බ්ලැක්පූල් හුළං කපොලු ඇල්ල)
A 12 meter high waterfall called Windy Corner Falls lies in the cold climate of Blackpool in Nuwara Eliya. Blackpool lies just 3 kilometers off Nuwara Eliya Town on the road to Nanu Oya. […]
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World War II British War Cemetery at Trincomalee (ත්‍රිකුණාමලය දෙවන ලෝක යුද සොහොන් පිටිය)
The Trincomalee war cemetery was originally the Combined Services Cemetery, but was taken over by the Admiralty from the military authorities in April 1948 for use as a permanent naval cemetery. […]
Memorial of Nuwarawewa Bandara near Ruwanweliseya (රුවන්වැලිසැය අසල නුවරවැව බණ්ඩාර සිහිවටන එලකය)
The memorial of the last direct descendent of the prince Bodhiguptha lies in view of Ruwanweliseya and reads - Memorial of Nuwarawewa Bulakulame Bandara, the custodian of the Atamasthana and the son of Anuradhapura Nuwarawewa Bulankulame Sooriyakumara Vannisinghe, The Nilame of Sathpatthu Mahavanni - at Ruwanweliseya premises […]
Narapadu Ancient Watch Tower in Mannar
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Gampaha Bandiyamulla Mausoleum (බන්ඩියමුල්ල සොහොන් ස්මාරකය)
Bandiyamulla Mausoleum is a hidden monument in Gampaha which is not known even to the people of Gampaha. The Mausoleum lies by the road 1 km towards Gampaha from Miriswatte junction. This structure is hidden from view due to a new shopping complex built recently. […]

Other Stone Bridges of Sri Lanka

Also See

Map of Ritigala Stone Bridge

Driving Directions to Ritigala Stone Bridge

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