The Ancient Cities - Sri Lanka - page 509

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, traveller reviews and insider
tips.
TICKETS FOR ANURADHAPURA
Entrance tickets for the main sites of Anuradhapura 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 Ar-
chitecture 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, Jetavanarama and Architecture
museums. There's also a handy ticket office just east of the Citadel.
Getting There & Away
BUS
Confusingly, Anuradhapura has no less than three bus stations. 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 fol-
lowing:
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