Cultural and Eco Heritage at Ritigala

If you are in the vicinity, or planning a trip, this a worthy destination. The climb is not strenuous, but it is peaceful, quiet, and enjoyable. Wear good foot-gear , have a bottle of water, and you are set! The walk and climb through the jungle with the sound and sights of the forest to keep you entertained, is an experience that will stay with you long after you have left Ritigala. The peaceful and special aura of many meditative minds living there, I believe, is still around and it is medicine to the soul!.

Words : Lakmini Wijemanne

Location and access:

It is 16 Km north-east from Habarana in the Anuradhapura District of the North Central Province. You can easily follow Google Maps to travel to Ritigala as it is one of the main points of interest around Habarana, Anuradhapura areas. There are many luxury hotels in and around both Anuradhapura and Habarana and from Habarana, it is about 1 hr and 30mts to the entrance of Ritigala. 
Ritigala archeological site is an ancient Buddhist monastic complex of which, little is still known. What is known of the history of Ritigala is much less than what is not known. It is believed to belong to the period 3rd Century BC up till the  9th Century AD, located about 43Km North-East of the Anuradhapura town. The period was when the Anuradhapura kingdom was flourishing. When, for the first time, Polonnaruwa became the main center of administration, Ritigala complex was believed to have been destroyed by the invasions of the Chola in the first half of the 11th Century AD. Ritigala complex, which once would have been the home for many arahat Theros who spent solitary lives there, meditating, got swallowed up by the immense jungle, hiding its wonders from the prying human eyes that did not appreciate what it was meant to be. The silence and the forest reigned. The wilderness took care of what is within, for many years, till one day, it could be found again, when humans are able to appreciate what it had once been and what it had provided. 

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