Cultural Triangle

The pear-shaped island at the tip of India has some of the world's most stunning, and least known, ancient cities and archaeological monuments, including monasteries, royal palaces, rock paintings and sculpture that span more than 2,000 years.

The largest and most dramatic are conveniently clustered in the center of the country, in an area called the "Cultural Triangle."

Sri Lanka's three great capitals of the Sinhalese kings --- ancient Anuradhapura, medieval Polonnaruwa and precolonial Kandy --- form the points of the 85-mile-long Cultural Triangle. This amazingly rich district also includes the cliff-top palace of Sigiriya and the cave paintings at Dambulla. All five are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

"Sri Lanka is the cradle of one of the great civilizations of Asia and the world," wrote Federico Mayor, a former director-general of UNESCO. "The Cultural Triangle was the center from which the influence of Theravada Buddhism and Sinhala artistic genius spread far and wide."

UNESCO- Sri Lanka Cultural Triangle Sites:-

     1. Anuradhapura

     2. Polonnaruwa

     3. Kandy

     4. Sigiriya

     5. Dambulla