Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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
connections daily
Pallai (for Jaffna)
1st/2nd/3rd class Rs 420/230/130; 3½ hours; two daily
Getting Around
The 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
Anuradhapura was hunting a stag on Mihintale Hill when he was approached by Mahinda,
son of the great Indian Buddhist emperor, Ashoka. Mahinda tested the king's wisdom and,
considering him to be a worthy disciple, promptly converted the king on the spot. Mihin-
tale has since been associated with the earliest introduction 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).
