Yesterday's blog photo was taken at Kaludiya Pokuna, Mihintale's  charming darkwater pond at the foot of the hills. The ancient cave is known as bath house.

For indepedent travellers interested in Buddhist heritage, my hometown Mihintale near Anuradhapura is definitely a major destination in Sri Lanka's so-called Cultural Triangle. The Ambasthala Dagaba, where Buddhism was introduced to the island, is a pilgrimage destination of historical significance. Several attractions in its vicinity, such as Kantaka Chetiya and rice boat, are usually visited by foreign guests too. Additionally, the less-frequented "dark pond" Kaludiya Pokuna" at the foot of the Mihintale hills is mentioned in pocket guides and therefore not completely unknown.

But there are several more places of interest in and around Mihintale that are worth a visit and that are still completely off the beaten path. Here is a list of five of them. For more detailed descriptions please visit our unrivalled Mihintale main page, where you can find more detailed information on each of them and on the famous sites, too.

Due to the shared Theravada Buddhist tradition, Sri Lanka has mch in common with Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Particularly the monastic traditions are intertwined. Strong ties started to develop during the Polonnaruwa period and the 13th century. Although by and large Sri Lanka played a more significant role in the cultural history of the other Theravada countries, traces of influences from Southeast Asia can be seen even in Sri Lanka's heritage sites such as Polonnaruwa. The layout of the Potgul Vihara in the south of Polonnaruwa, with three upper levels of temple terraces, may have been inspired by Khmer architecture. The Satmahal Pasada on the Quadrangle temple platform is a steep step pyramid with niches for Buddha statues, a quite unique structure in ancient Sri Lanka. But it very much resembles Mon architecture of northern Thailand.

Sigiriya, of course, is a heritage highlight for travellers in Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle. We chose the view to the famous Lion Rock in the centre of the island as our first photo on our title page. But not many people know the perfect vantage point from where this image is taken. It's the plateau of the little sister of Sigiriya, Pidurangala, which has one of the most spectacular panoramic views of Sri Lanka. But the neighbouring rock of Sigiriya is a heritage attraction in itself. Read more about Pidurangala here...

Yesterday's blog post about the ruins of Anuradhapura's so-called Western Monasteries remained without image. To give you a visual impression of this less visited area of the archaeological zone, we add one picture today.

The ruins of the so-called Western Monasteries of Anuradhapura are worth a visit, although they are not large monuments. Due to the large amount of famous destinations in Anuradhapura, only few travellers find their way to the smaller archaeological sites situated just west of the ancient tanks. The area, which is sometimes called Thapovana, was once a crematorial place. One reform movement within the Buddhist Sangha lived a more austere live than the majority of Buddhist monks. One of their additional rules, which are otherwise not mandatory in the Buddhist order, was to accept no robes as gifts but to collect the wrecked clothes of the deceased left behind before the cremations took place. The reform monks are named after this practice, Pansukulikas. They remained attached to the large monasteries in the core of Anuradhapura but settled down outside the busy town centre. There monastic buildings were without built of large and precisely hewn blocks of stone, but remained without ornamental works of art, with one odd exception: the toilets of Anuradhapura's Western Monasteries were richly decorated with carvings, as another symbol of contempt for art.

The  day before yesterday we posted a blog article about the most famous sites in Polonnaruwa. Those must-sees and major attactions are recommended for travellers who can spend only a few hours in Polonnaruwa. Guests who invest a full day in Polonnaruwa have a choice. They can visit the main attractions in a more relaxed way, of course. They should consider a half-day excursion to Dimbulagala for a small hike. Or they can see more temples in Polonnaruwa.

Asked, which are the less-known ancient sites in Polonnaruwa, those less crowded places you can enjoy without being disturbed by busloads, the answer is: There are two categories of off-the-beaten path destinations in Polonnaruwa. Some specific areas of great sites are not as frequented as you might guess, and some smaller sites are usually missed on group tours.

Actually, the Alahena Pirivina complex is often visited on group tours. But usually the busloads only go to the Lankatilaka temple. Behind that impressive image house, further west at the foot of the hill, is a large area of typical monastic buildings such as Kutis and small image houses. Of particular interest in this less-frequented are of the Polonnaruwa’s major monastic compound are some charming bathes and the only rectangular moonstone in South Asia.

Another historically important site, mentioned in most guidebooks, is Nissanka Malla’s palace with the magnificent lion throne hall. Although accessible without ticket and situated charmingly at the shores of the great ancient reservoir called Topa Wewa, the ruined garden-like palace is usually a very silent place, not crowded with tourists.

Inside the archaeological park, many travellers miss to take a small dead-end road to the west, which near the famous Quadrangle branches off the main south-north axis. The said de cul-de-sac will lead you to two attractions that are of much interest for lovers of Sri Lanka’s medieval architecture. Both are most remarkable examples of the specific art of that period. The blind lane leads to the so-called Shiva Devale No. 2. In fact, this is the oldest temple building within the archaeological zone of Polonnaruwa and it is very well preserved. It’s all the more worth visiting as this Hindu sanctuary is Sri Lanka’s best specimen of a temple in the Chola style. It is from the period of Chola occupation (11th century), this means slightly earlier than the Polonnaruwa period. You can study the typical roof structure of Dravidian architecture, with lots of miniature temples as acroters at each tier.

On the way to the Shiva Devale No.2 you will cross the medium-sized stupa called Pabulu Vehera. It’s worth visiting for two reasons. The shape of the dome is not hemispherical but two-storeyed. A smaller slightly flat stupa is placed atop an almost cylindrical stupa. This arrangement is not known from other periods of Sri Lankan art, nor from other Buddhist countries. Though larger ruins of this type survive in other parts of Sri Lanka (Dedigama in the west and Yuddhaganawa in the south of the island), the Pabulu Vihara is probably the best example of this uncommon type of stupa. Furthermore, it is surrounded by eight image houses. Some statues or remnants of images are still in situ.

For those who like to see even better preserved Buddhist sculptures, a small path will lead to the Manik Vehera near the northern gate, which you will cross on the way from the Quadrangle temples to the famous rock sculptures of Gal Vihara. The Manik Vehera is not far from the main south-north axis, but it can not be seen from that road and therefore is usually missed by most independent travellers. And the site is too small to attract busloads. Apart from the said statues, the stupa of this small temple compound is quite interesting, too. It‘s placed on a brick platform which is decorated with a frieze of lions. They are depicted frontally, a common feature in later Buddhist art but not common in the earlier periods of Sinhalese arts.

When leaving the archaeological park at the northwestern gate (just west of the Gal Vihara rock Buddhas and to the south of Tivanka statue house), you will return to Polonnaruwa town via a public road. There are three ruins of Hindu temples along this road. Usually busses don’t stop here. But actually, these are the largest Hindu compound of ancient Polonnaruwa. They are witnesses of the multi-ethnic character of the medieval Sinhalese capital.

The main attractions within the archaeological park of Polonnaruwa are oriented along a north-south line. This citadel with the royal palace is in the south, the former tooth temple are called Quadrangle in the centre and the main monastery Alahena Parivena further north. Just north of it is the group of rock-hewn Buddhas called Gal Vihara. Ist original name was Uttara Vihara, which translates to „northern monastery“.

However, there are two famous structures even further north, viz. the Tivanka statue house and the nearby charming lotus-shaped pond Nelum Pokuna. The Tivanka at the northern end of the road within the archaeological park is one of the three large-scale monuments of this type that is typical of the Polonnaruwa period, the other two being Thuparama in the Quadrangle and Lankatilaka in the Alahena Pirivene. Tivanka is remarkable for at least three reasons. The venerated main Buddha image is depicted in the Thribanga posture, which is called Tivanka in Sri Lanka. It’s the South Asian version of the contrapposto pose. It’s very common in India, but usually Hindu deities and not Buddhas are depicted in this posture. The Tribhanga is more often used in the art of Mahayana Buddhism than for Theravada sculptures, but the Theravada school otherwise became prevalent in Sri Lanka just during the Polonnaruwa period. The second main feature of the Tivanka tatue house is the existence of paintings. Actually, the murals are the largest and best-preserved from the Polonnaruwa period. They depict scenes from the Holy scruptures and demons in particular. A third remarkable featur of the Tivanka statue house in a frieze of funny Gana dwarfs at the outer wall. Ganas are known from the art of the earlier Anuradhapura period, but the Ganas at the Tivanka statue house are more three-dimensional and vivid and serve as the classical example of this sujet in Sri Lanka.

The nearby lotus-shaped pond is the only one of this kind that survived in South Asia. It’s small in size but of charming beauty. Don’t miss to see it when visiting Polonnaruwa.

The third building is less worth visiting, although it’s extraordinary. The small scrub-covered hill you will pass when travelling to the Tivanka temple and the Nelum bath is not natural. Originally it was a stupa of a specific wide and flat type that is typical of the Polonnaruwa period. This one, known as Demala stupa, was actually the largest stupa at all ever built in the world. But to be honest, what can be seen today is not impressive any more, as mentioned.

As in the case of many other Sinhala terms, there are various transliteration of the name of this stupa, e.g. Mirisaweti or Mirisawatiya. Why do we choose „Mirisavaeti“? This is the spelling that comes closest to the correct spelling. The „ae“ is a typical Sinhala vowel, it’s a sound similar to the „a“ in English „share“ or „bear“.  Transliterations of foreign words with „ae“ are well-known in English, if those words are of Greek or Latin origin, for example haemoglobine or archaeology. So why not use the „ae“ for transcribing a Sinhala word? But it has to be conceded, this is not a common of spelling Sinhala terms in English.

In a way, Mirisavaeti was built to commemorate the capture of Anuradhapura by King Dutugaemunu, who previouslyy had ruled only over the southern part of Sri Lanka. When he took a refreshing bath after his victory, he placed his royal lance with Buddhist relics at the site of the later dagoba. The relics were given to him by Buddhist monks to ensure his victory and the reconquest of Anuradhapura and reestablishment of Buddhist rule in the Sinhalese capital. Returning from his bath, the king could not not move his lance any more. This was taken as an indication that the relics had decided where to be kept finally. Accordingly, the stupa was errected at the spot to enshrine them here.

Not many tourists visit the very northern parts of Anuradhapura. There are indeed no major attractions to the north of the junction between Kuttam Pokuna (twin pond) and Samadhi Buddha. However, the seclusion of the sites in northern Anuradhapura contributes to their charm. And from a cultural-historical perspective they are quite special.

The first site you will reach when driving northwards from the Kuttam Pokuna, is a complex which once served as a women’s order. There are only few ruins of nuns‘ monasteries from the ancient Sinhalese civilization. Lankarama in the south of Anuradhapura’s large Abhayagiri complex could have been another one. The ruins to the north are called Ashokarama. Remarkably, a statue of a seated Buddha is still in situ, a rare sight in Sri Lanka’s ruins. At the entrance of this former image house there is one of the few large Anuradhapura moonstones.

Another hidden temple complex in ruins is the Vijayarama, further northwest. There is not much to see, but it’s alluring because the ancient site is overgrown by the jungle. The small stupa in the centre contained copper plates from the late Anuradhapura period. The inscriptions were Gathas praising the tantric goddess Tara. Tantrism is a form of Buddhism usually not practiced in Sri Lanka.

A quite arcadian site in northern Anuradhapura is a stone bridge, built of blocks up to 3 m in length. Though having the appearance of a megalithic monument, they are from the historical Anuradhapura period. Such stonebridges were safe to be passed by elephants. The stone bridge in Anuradhapura north was one of the largest in Sri Lanka, but only half of the structure has survived.