Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ritigala Ruins
Deep inside the
Ritigala Strict Nature Reserve
are the sprawling, jungle-covered ruins of
an extensive monastic and cave complex. The broken stone structures, fallen carvings and
once-sacred caves lie on a 766m hill, a striking feature that looms above the dry central
flatlands.
Ritigala was probably a place of refuge (as long ago as the 4th century BC) and also has
mythological status. It's claimed to be the spot from which Hanuman (the monkey god)
leapt to India to tell Rama that he had discovered where Sita was being held by the king of
Lanka.
Monks found Ritigala's caves ideal for an ascetic existence, and more than 70 have been
discovered. Royals proved generous patrons, especially King Sena I, who in the 9th cen-
tury made an endowment of a monastery to the
pamsukulika
(rag robes) monks.
Ritigala was abandoned following the Chola invasions in the 10th and 11th centuries,
after which it lay deserted and largely forgotten until it was rediscovered by British sur-
veyors in the 19th century.
Sights
The ruined structures that remain are not that visually impressive to the casual observer
and there are none of the usual icons: no bodhi tree, no relic house and no Buddha images.
The only embellishments are on the urinals at the forest monastery - it's been conjectured
that by urinating on the fine stone carving the monks were demonstrating their contempt
for worldly things.
Near the Archaeology Department bungalow are the remains of a
banda pokuna
(artifi-
cial pond), which apparently fills with water during the rainy season. It's an evocative loc-
ation, with the steep green mountain providing a backdrop like a verdant amphitheatre.
From here it's a scramble along a forest path via a donations hall to a
ruined palace
and
the
monastery hospital
, where you can still see the grinding stones and huge stone baths.
A flagstone path leads upwards; a short detour takes you to what is often described as a
stone fort - or, more accurately, a lookout.
