The Cultural Triangle

Sri Lanka’s famous Cultural Triangle stretches between the ancient former capitals of Anuradhapura to the north, Polonnaruwa to the east and Kandy to the south. Within its boundaries lie several of the country’s greatest cultural sites, including soaring Sigiriya and the cave temples at Dambulla.

Anuradhapura is the northernmost and oldest of the ancient capitals, rising to prominence in the 4th-century BCE and flourishing for over a millennium. Its enormous dagobas (relic chambers) and revered bodhi tree – said to be a cutting from the tree under which the Buddha gained enlightenment – make it a major pilgrimage site.

To the east, Polonnaruwa became the capital in the 11th-century and is renowned above all for its giant recumbent Buddhas. Kandy completes the triangle. The last capital of the Sri Lankan kings, it remains the country’s cultural soul, home to the golden-roofed Temple of the Tooth, lush botanical gardens and refined lakeside retreats.

At the heart of the region, Sigiriya Rock rises 200 metres straight up from the surrounding plains, its summit adorned by the ruins of an ancient royal palace. Though Sigiriya steals the show, it’s also well worth stopping at the Dambulla cave temples – home to over 150 statues of the Buddha, it’s one of Sri Lanka’s holiest shrines.