Legend:

Travel time between locations has been kept to a maximum of 5 hours.  We will stop along the way at places of interests.  Light refreshments in the way of soda, fruit juices, bottled water and light snacks are available in the vehicles.  You will travel in comfortable air-conditioned coaches on road journeys and in air-conditioned 4WD vehicles in the jungles when going on safari.  The routes are chosen to reduce traveling times and doubling back on the same route as much as possible and yet allow you to experience the surprises of traveling in Sri Lanka where you can expect something different on almost every corner.

Some of the tallest free standing historical Buddha statues in the world and ancient Buddhist edifices second in size only to the great pyramids of Egypt are in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is the only country in the world that has been practicing Buddhism continuously for over twenty five hundred years.  Theravada Buddhism has been the major religion since it was officially introduced to the island during the reign of King Devanampiya-Tissa in the 2nd century BC by Venerable Mahinda, the son of Emperor Ashoka of India.  This historic meeting between Venerable Mahinda and King Devanampiya-Tissa took place at Mihintale [Day 8 of the tour]. Venerable Mahinda’s visit was followed later by his sister, Venerable Nun Sanghamitta, who brought a sapling of the southern branch of the original Bodhi tree under which the Lord Buddha attained Nirvana. The sapling was planted at Anuradhapura and is known as the Sri Maha Bodhi, the oldest historically known tree in the world [Day 8 of the tour]. To this day the Buddhists and non-Buddhists in Sri Lanka pay the utmost reverence and homage to the Sri Maha Bodhi, as it is a direct descendant of the Bodhi Tree under the shade of which the Master achieved Enlightenment.  Legend has it that the Buddha himself visited Sri Lanka three times during his lifetime and proclaimed that Sri Lanka will be the receptacle that will safeguard his teachings for the future.

Monks from Sri Lanka have had an important role in spreading both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism throughout South and Southeast Asia.  In Sri Lanka in the 1st century AD during the reign of King Vatta Gamini the Buddhist monks assembled in the Aloka-Vihara and wrote down for the first time all the teachings of the Gautama Buddha in Pali script. These Pali scriptures are known as the Tripitaka - the three baskets of teachings of the Buddha.  It was Sri Lankan nuns who introduced the Order of the of Nuns of the Sangha into China in 433 AD.

In the 16th century when the Portuguese conquered Sri Lanka they savagely persecuted Buddhism, as did the Dutch who followed them.  When the British won control at the beginning of the 19th century Buddhism was well into decline, a situation that encouraged English and American Christian missionaries who began to flood the island.  But against all expectations the monastic and lay community brought about a major revival from about 1860 onwards, a movement that went hand in hand with growing nationalistic movement.

Since then Buddhism has flourished and Sri Lankan monks and expatriate lay people have been prominent in spreading Theravada Buddhism in greater Asia, the West and even in Africa.

Some of the most marvelous monuments built to honor and pay tribute to the Lord Buddha are in Sri Lanka. Some of the sculptures in these monuments are closely associated with the early art of the Krishna valley and the later influence of Pallava and Chola kings, owing to the close relationship that existed between south India and Sri Lanka.

According to the Sri Lankan chronicles, the Mahavamsa, one of Emperor Ashoka's sons, the monk Mahinda, supervised the construction of the monastic buildings near Anuradhapura.  Simultaneously, he sent to India for relics of the Buddha. These according to history included the Buddha's alms bowl and his right collarbone. Later a hair relic, and in the 4th century AD, the Buddha's tooth was brought to Sri Lanka. The tooth is still preserved in Kandy in the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth Relic) where daily rituals are conducted to venerate the Buddha's tooth [Day 3 of the tour].  In the months of July thru August every year the world’s largest and longest religious pageant takes place in Kandy, which is the annual Kandy Perahera.  Over one hundred gaily caparisoned elephants, drummers, dancers and religious Buddhist dignitaries take part in this celebration to honor the sacred tooth relic.

To house the relics, massive stupas were built. Standing at 300 feet, Ruwanweliseya, or the "Great Stupa" is regarded as one of the most important stupas at Anuradhapura in the North Western Sri Lanka.  Much restored, the great dome, circled with old columns, is still to be seen in Anuradhapura.  During major festivals it is crowded with hundreds of thousands of devotees in family groups, who picnic happily among the ruins and offer puja at the Sri Maha Bodhi. There are other important monuments nearby at Mihintale, the site of Mahinda's first sermon to King Devanampiya-Tissa.  The stupas in Sri Lanka are built on a circular drum on a square base that rises in concentric circles to form a tapering  dome – this shape is representative of the gradual release of earthly desires as one attains higher enlightenment.  On top of the dome is a square harmika which represents the four noble truths.  On top of the square is a cone that has on the very top a precious stone that emanates light – representing the attaining of Nirvana.  The Ruwanweliseya stupa at Anuradhapura built in the 3rd century BC is one of the finest examples of this design.

During the course of the tour you will have the opportunity to meet with and speak to some of the chief Buddhist priests who are in charge of these historical Buddhist temples.