In Sri Lanka, King Dutthagamani elevated the "City of Anuradha" to His capital, which remained the political and religious centre of the country for over a thousand years.

The historical Anuradhapura is a pilgrimage destination for many Buddhists but it is also an important illustration of an archaeological excavations.

When the daughter of King Ashoka came here in the year 245, she brought a branch from the Bodhi tree under which Buddha found his enlightenment. A temple district surrounds the Sacred Tree, and pilgrims visit this place to pray and absorb its inherent power. When the South Indian conquerors reduced the city to rubble, they spared the Bodhi tree, as it was also sacred to them as Hindus.

According to historic tradition, King Devanampiya Tissa sent the monk Sumara to India to Emperor Ashoka to ask for a relic of Gautama Buddha in the 3rd century B.C. The monk returned with the right clavicle bone of Buddha and other relics, which were all kept in the original shrine.

Inside another forest of columns of once covered halls, you can discover the stone basin belonging to the refectory. It was filled with rice and used to prepare food for the monks.

The decline of the royal city in the 11th century also meant the end for the monastery. Anuradhapura was destroyed, abandoned and swallowed up by the jungle.