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8 Information
Main St and Dhamapala Mawatha in the centre
have banks and AtMs as well as shops selling
anything you might need.
Head to Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com/
sri-lanka/the-ancient-cities/anuradhapura) for
planning advice, author recommendations, travel-
ler reviews and insider tips.
TICKETS FOR ANURADHAPURA
Entrance tickets for the main sites of Anuradha-
pura cost US$25/15 per adult/child.
Unfortunately the Anuradhapura ticket is valid
for only one day. to avoid having to buy more than
one, you’ll need to be strategic. tickets are most
closely inspected in the Abhayagiri, Citadel and
Jetavanarama collections of sites and museums
plus the main Architecture Museum. You could try
to squeeze your touring of these important sites
into one day and then use a second day for sites
with their own entrance fees, such as Sri Maha
Bodhi and Mirisavatiya Dagoba. You can buy the
Anuradhapura ticket at the Abhayagiri, Jetavanar-
ama and Architecture museums. there’s also a
handy ticket office just east of the Citadel.
8 Getting There & Away
BUS
Confusingly, Anuradhapura has three bus sta-
tions. Unless noted otherwise, daytime service in
all directions is frequent (every 30 minutes or so).
Colombo Bus Station Private air-con and
‘semi-comfortable’ (larger seats, no air-con)
buses leave from this small station near the old
Bus Station. Services include the following:
Colombo rs 390-540, six hours
Dambulla rs 170, 1½ hours
Kandy rs 360, four hours
New Bus Station Buses heading to points
east and north start here. Services include the
following:
Jaffna rs 328, six hours, eight daily
Mihintale rs 30, 30 minutes
Polonnaruwa rs 120, three hours
Trinco rs 170, 3½ hours, three daily
Old Bus Station Southbound buses start here
and stop at the New Bus Station, by which time
seats may be few. Services include the following:
Colombo via Dambulla rs 274, six hours
Colombo via Negombo rs 253, six hours
Dambulla rs 95, 1½ hours
Kandy rs 190/360 normal/air-con, four hours
TRAIN
Anuradhapura’s main train station is an art-deco
gem. train services include the following:
Colombo 1st/2nd/3rd class rs 600/370/240,
five hours, five daily
Kandy, changing at Polgahawela 1st/2nd/3rd
class rs 485/275/150, six hours, four connec-
tions daily
Pallai (for Jaffna) 1st/2nd/3rd class rs
420/230/130; 3½ hours; two daily8 Getting Around
t he city is too spread out to investigate on foot.
A three-hour taxi tour costs about rs 1500 and
a three-wheeler about rs 1200. Bicycles are the
best local means of transport and can be rented
at most hotels and guesthouses (rs 300 to 500
per day).Mihintale
% 025
This somnolent village and temple complex,
13km east of Anuradhapura, holds a special
place in the annals of Sri Lankan lore. In 247
BC King Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapu-
ra was hunting a stag on Mihintale Hill when
he was approached by Mahinda, son of the
great Indian Buddhist emperor, Ashoka. Ma-
hinda tested the king’s wisdom and, consid-
ering him to be a worthy disciple, promptly
converted the king on the spot. Mihintale has
since been associated with the earliest intro-
duction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka.
Each year a great festival, the Poson Poya,
is held at Mihintale on the Poson full-moon
night (usually in June).1 ightsS
Exploring Mihintale (US$4; h24hr) involves a
steep climb, so you may wish to visit it early in
the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid
the midday heat.
Wannabe guides charge about Rs 800 for
a two-hour tour that is exhaustive in detail.
If the guide follows you up the steps, you’re
committed, so make your decision clear be-
fore setting out. Single women are advised not
to tour alone with a guide.Stairway S tAIrwAY
In a series of flights, 1843 ancient granite slab
steps lead majestically up the hillside (if you
lose count, you have to go back to the bottom
and start over). The first flight is the widest
and shallowest. It’s possible to avoid more
than half the steps by driving up Old Rd.Kantaka Chetiya BUDDHISt
At the first landing a smaller flight of steps
leads to this partly ruined dagoba off to the
right, one of the oldest at Mihintale. It’s 12m
high (originally more than 30m) and 130m