Dambulla Cave temple
Dambulla Cave temple (also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla) is a world heritage site (1991) in Sri Lanka, situated in the central part of the country. This site is situated 148 km (92 mi) east of Colombo and 72 km (45 mi) north of Kandy. It is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m (525 ft) over the surrounding plains.There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding. Major attractions are spread over 5 caves, which contain statues and paintings. This paintings and statues are related to Lord Buddha and his life. There are total of 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of Sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of gods and goddesses. The later 4 include two statues of Hindu gods, god Vishnu and god Ganesh. The murals, covers an area of 2,100 square meters. Depictions in the walls of the caves include Buddha's temptation by Mara (demon) and Buddha's first sermon.
Sinharaja Forest
The hilly virgin rainforest, part of the Sri Lanka lowland rain forests ecoregion, was saved from the worst of commercial logging by its inaccessibility, and was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1989. The reserve's name translates as Kingdom of the Lion.
The reserve is only 21 km (13 mi) from east to west, and a maximum of 7 km (4 mi) from north to south, but it is a treasure trove of endemic species, including trees, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Because of the dense vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks such as Yala. There are no elephants, and the 15 or so leopards are rarely seen. The most common larger mammal is the endemic Purple-faced Langur.
Sri Lanka's history dates back to more than 2500 years. These ancient cities and their glorious remains that are temples, fortresses, statues and irigation feats still have the ability to make people gaze at them with reverence. Ancient sites are considered to be archeological gold mines because they are evidence to a very rich civilization. Most of the places are declared as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO. The oldest and the largest ancient city is Anuradhapura.
Yapahuwa Ancient City
Yapahuwa is located a little way off the Kurunegala-Anuradhapura road, in the Wayamba province of Sri Lanka. Of all the ancient ruins in the country the Rock Fortress Complex of Yapahuwa is considered to be quite remarkable despite the fact that it isn't famous among most visitors. However, it is renowned as one of the best archeological site in the country. It is even rumored to be more significant than The Rock Fortress in Sigiriya.
Buduruwagala Ancient City
Located south of Wellawaya, an ancient city/archeological site exists known as Buduruwagala. Famous for its statues of bodhisattva's along with one buddha statue. In Sri Lanka people follow Theravada buddhism, however the buddha statue signifies an influence from the Mahayana school of buddhism. The Buddha statue is approximately 16m high. Buduruwagala isnt quite known among tourists but still it is one of the best places for visiting.
No comments:
Post a Comment