Ruwanvelisaaya, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

Ruwanvelisaaya was a project started by King Dutta Gamini around 150 BC. It along with the Sri Maha Bodhi - the sacred Bo tree grown from a sapling of the tree of Enlightenment at Buddha Gaya in India - are objects of foremost veneration for pilgrims going to Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It contains the sacred relics of Lord Buddha. Photo by Charaka Wickremasinghe.

Mount Lavinia Hotel, Sri Lanka.

I took this picture of Mount Lavinia Hotel, Sri Lanka at around 9 pm. It is said that this former British Governor's mansion, got the name Lavinia from the Governor's daughter. The picture shows the entrance to the hotel.

A stone trough, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

"Kandha-oruwa' - a stone trough at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. This stone trough was reputedly used to hold rice gruel for 5000 monks at a time, as part of a 'dhana'. There were two such troughs at Anuradhapura. Photo by Charaka Wickremasinghe.

Part of old stone bridge, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

Bridges were constructed out of cut pieces of granite and supported on columns of granite. These were held in place by mortise type of locks, cut in the granite slabs themselves. The photo shows a stone bridge of the Anuradhapura period (5th Century AD)m in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Photo by Charaka Wickremasinghe.

Waterfall, Sabaragamuwa. Sri Lanka.

The province of Sabaragamuwa was named so in ancient times because of the presence of a village of Gypsies (Sabara - Sinhalese). It also had the name 'Denawaka' in Sinhalese literature. It aquired the name Rathnapura because of the presence of gems in its soil. It is the most beautiful part if Sri Lanka. Rivulets, streams, rocky mountains and innumerable waterfalls with an abundant flora and fauna make it unique. This picture shows one of its numerous unnamed water-falls.