Anuradhapura Sacred-City Cycle

Pedal between giant stupas and ancient monasteries in Sri Lanka's first great capital.

What the Anuradhapura Sacred-City Cycle is really like.

Anuradhapura was the island's capital for over a thousand years and remains a living sacred city, its ruins spread across a vast park best explored by bicycle. You ride between colossal brick stupas, the ruins of monasteries and bathing pools, and the Sri Maha Bodhi, a tree grown from a cutting of the Buddha's own and tended for over two thousand years. The flat, shaded tracks make for easy, atmospheric cycling. An early start keeps it cool and quiet.

At a glance

Best season: Year-round (clearest May – September)
Typical duration: Half day
Region: 1

Moment by moment

How the day unfolds.

Step 01
Set off by bike
Pick up a bicycle and roll into the sacred city along flat, tree-shaded lanes between the ruins.
Step 02
The great stupas
Ride up to the colossal brick domes of Ruwanwelisaya and Jetavanaramaya, among the ancient world's largest structures.
Step 03
The sacred Bodhi tree
Pause at the Sri Maha Bodhi, grown from a cutting of the Buddha's tree and tended for over two thousand years.
Step 04
Monasteries and pools
Explore the ruins of vast monasteries, carved guard-stones and the great stone bathing tanks.
Step 05
Stupa at dusk
Time the last stop for late light, when a whitewashed dome glows against the darkening sky.