10 March 2013 Sigiriya to Anuradhapura day trip

Tuk-tuk passing just as I took picture of water lilly fields

Leaving at about 9 AM, we moved briskly down the road, through lake and swamp areas filled with water lillies  until Chandi discovered our interest in bird-watching, after which we had many stops to see the birds, as Chandi was an enthusiastic bird-guide. As we drove quickly saw many White-Throated Kingfishers, Purple Swamp-hen, Pheasant-Tailed Jacana, Emerald Dove, Open-billed Storks, Wooly-Necked Storks, Cormorants, a Changeable Hawk-Eagle, Indian Pond Herons, Egrets, Whiskered Terns, Blue-Tailed Bee Eaters,  Whistling Ducks, Yellow-billed Babblers, Purple Herons, Brown-Headed Barbets, Red-Vented Lapwings, spectacular wild Peacocks, Indian Rollers, Red-Vented Bulbuls, a Fish Eagle, Brahmini Kites, several Ibis, and some Indian Magpie Robins, not to mention common birds like Mynas, Crows, Spotted Doves, and English Sparrows.

Arriving at one of the prominent temples in Anuradhapura named the Samadhi Buddha, we promptly saw a Black-Hooded Oriole, followed by some Golden-Fronted Leafbirds, then an Asian Paradise Flycatcher, a Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, a Greater Flameback Woodpecker, and a little later two close-up Brown Fish Owls! We also saw an Indian Scimitar Babbler, Purple Sunbird, Grey Drongo, and a White-Throated Flower-Pecker at this location, where the birds seemed to be curious about us! Perhaps they were collecting sighting of the rare Homo Americanus birdwatcherus! We also saw many Rose-ringed Parakeets and a White-browed Bulbul on the way back, and several smaller birds that were hard to identify properly, including wrens, warblers, and flycatchers. So we had a great day bird watching while looking at the 2,400 year old city of Anuradhapura.

Anuradhapura served continuously as the capital of a country longer than any other city in the world, at 1,400 years, from 400 BC to 1000 AD, when it was conquered by invaders from South India who wanted to loot its wealth, after which it was abandoned. The second longest continuous capital is supposed to be in Cambodia of about 1,000 years, and the third is Rome, with ruled an empire for almost 800 years. Anuradhapura also has the oldest living tree in the world, from a branch which was taken from the Bodhi tree that the Buddha was enlightened under, and planted here in about 250 BC, some 200 years after the Buddha’s death. Parts of this original tree are still alive, and it is of course taken great care of, tested annually, etc. as is reported to be the oldest historic tree in the world. We visited the tree and its surrounding temple, which is quite small.  The whole site is studded with vast expanses of monastic sites. The tallest brick-built stupas of the ancient world, Ruvanvalisaya, Abhayagiri, and Jetawana  dagabas constituted the main edifices of the three monasteries which have been excavated over the past 25 years and are a UNSECO World heritage site since the mid 1980s.
 

The water system with its tanks and key-hole well and bathing ponds are truly remarkable as were the methods used for filtering water- even urine from the latrines! The small museum there was interesting even with the fact that the electricity was off so it was difficult to see all of the jewelry and ceramics as well as very hot we would note that it was worthwhile seeing. The other interesting carving we saw was the moonstone (Sandakadapahana ) which is the semi-circular door mat with excellent carvings.
 

Sri Lanka has some of the most ancient Buddhist buildings and culture, and about 70% of the population is Buddhist today, with 15% Muslim, and about 7% Christian and 7% Hindu.