Ancient Cities: Anuradahpura

From Trinco, we took the long bus ride to Anuradahpura. The road no more a single lane wide at any time, rust-colored dirt spilling onto the street from the shoulder, we bumped and lurched over varying degrees of pavement. The country was flat and dry, the sun stifling in the cramped bus full of tangled bodies. On either side of the road, crops and sparse groupings of trees slipped past our windows.

The last of the ancient cities on our list, Anuradahpura was billed as not only the largest grouping of the Unesco-backed ruins, but also the most historically significant for Buddhism in Sri Lanka. With history dating back to the 4^th century BC, ancient Anuradahpura was Sri Lanka’s first big capital city (although the palace ruins turned out to be an unimpressive pile of bricks) and the original landing place of the Buddha’s teachings on the island. We thought we might even need more than a full day to see all of the ruins.

Anuradahpura’s biggest religious draw is the Sri Bodhi, its holy bodhi tree. A branch from the bodhi tree, under which the Buddha achieved Enlightenment, was brought from India to be planted in Sri Lanka, a deathbed request from the Buddha himself (or so the story goes). Not only is the tree of religious significance and a major pilgrimage site, it is also the oldest historically verified tree on earth. Many other trees have been planted in the same area, all direct descendants of the famed Sri Bodhi, which reaches and stretches, supported by poles and cordoned-off from the public. Lankans trampled through hot sand and gravel, prayer flags fluttered, and stray dogs dozed in the shade.

In addition to the Sri Bodhi and its accompanying temple, an assortment of dagobas dot the old city, spread out at random. At each dagoba we removed our shoes to circumambulate the bulbous structures painted such a blinding white they reflect the blue of the sky. We watched the religious make their offerings of flowers and incense, offered lotus flowers ourselves at the busiest of dagobas. Variations on a theme, the dagobas ranged in height and shrine style, but little else.

We did not need more than a day; we did not need more than a morning. Aside from the hushed reverence that surrounds Buddhist temples and provides a nice break from honking buses and shouting tuk-tuk drivers, Anuradahpura was lacking in the experience department. The sun was scorching, the air dry and dust-filled, a thin layer sticking to our sweaty flesh. The dagobas very much in the same style as those we see in Thailand, we were templed-out. Even a snake charmer turned out to be a dud, more grabbing than charming it, the snake de-poisoned anyhow. We were ready to abandon central Sri Lanka’s temple ruins and head to the cooler, greener Hill Country.