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RITIGALA

RITIGALA

Ritigala is located 188 km north-east of Colombo, at Ganewalpola, near Kekirawa in North Central province. Ritigala is home to 70 rock caves that were believed to have been inhabited since the first century BC. These sprawling, jungle-covered ruins of an extensive monastic cave complex sit on a 24-hectare site that is almost deserted. Ritigala used to be the royal medicinal forest for the ancient cities in the area and was also the site of an important Buddhist monastic community, which established itself in the area from the 3rd Century BC.

According to Mahavamsa, the great historical chronicle of Sri Lanka, Ritigala was known by the name of “Aritta-Pabbatha” during the reign of Pandukabhaya (377-307 BC), the third king of Sri Lanka. Since then Ritigala had been, at intervals, a sanctuary for the kings at war against the Dravidian invaders to the island till the 7th century: King Dutugemunu (161-137 BC) and King Jetthatissa in the seventh century.

From the early days of Buddhism, monks had been living in natural caves or rock shelters. Rock inscriptions discovered at Ritigala indicate that gradually, the sanctuary became a monastic retreat for hermit (Pansukulika) monks. An inscription found at the site records that the Ritigala monastery was founded by King Lanji Tissa (119 – 109 BC) who also dedicated a reservoir to the monastery complex built with the tradition of Padhanaghara Pirivena was endowed by King Sena the first (846-866 AD) for the benefit of Pansukulika monks who practiced extreme austerity. By the 10th-12th century AD, however, Ritigala seems to have been abandoned by the hermit monks, taken over by the jungle and forgotten by the populace.

It is the ruins of this monastery that King Sena I (846-866 AD) built for the Pansakulika monks that the modern pilgrims see today. The Archaeological Department has sensitively restored many of the ruins.

Today the visible remains are those of the monastic congregation which practiced meditation in total austerity, preferring the wild environment of the forests to the busy towns. Rarely visited by tourists this mystical place is incredibly beautiful and unspoiled with shady forests filled with streams, broken stone structures, fallen carvings, pools and sculptural granite boulders and ancient elegant stone pathways, once-sacred caves lie on a small hill, but; it is a striking feature in the flat, dry landscape surrounding it. Which wind through the forest to the ruins of the various meditation platforms. Ritigala can be visited at any time of the day since it is wonderfully cool and free of tourists. Rock inscriptions discovered at Ritigala indicate that gradually, the sanctuary became a monastic retreat for hermit (Pansukulika) monks. An inscription found at the site records that the Ritigala monastery was founded by King Lanji Tissa (119 – 109 BC) who also dedicated a reservoir to the monastery complex built with the tradition of Padhanaghara Pirivena was endowed by King Sena the first (846-866 AD) for the benefit of Pansukulika monks who practiced extreme austerity. By the 10th-12th century AD, however, Ritigala seems to have been abandoned by the hermit monks, taken over by the jungle and forgotten by the populace.

It is the ruins of this monastery that King Sena I (846-866 AD) built for the Pansakulika monks that the modern pilgrims see today. The Archaeological Department has sensitively restored many of the ruins.

 

 

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    "Thank you Cyril for making our Christmas holiday fun so smoothly and easy. We loved Sri Lanka and look forward to retuning again. Cyril, your knowledge and service was outstanding and it was so refreshing to have such a very highlevel of service. We will be sure to recomond your service and travel agency to our friends. Please feel free to use us as a reference, you can use my email or phone number to clients." Bruce Larson & family from USA

    "Cyril was an excellent guide and gave us a very good insight into the history and cultures of Sri Lanka. He was always polite, helpful and prompt. His driving was always calm and controlled - unlike some of the other vehicles we saw!!! We would recommend him to others traveling to Sri Lanka. WH - UK - January 2011" Wilson Harland

    "Dear Cyril, Sincerest apologies for this delayed email --- reason being that I had been extremely busy with work & travel, since returning from Sri Lanka and just got a breather now, to download our photos and catch up with private matters. Hope this email finds you & family, in the best of health & spirits. Your granddaughter must be keeping you busy and giving you & Mrs. Baddegama immense joy. At this end, we are doing fine. Nikhita is back at school, now in Grade 7 and havi..." Pradeep Kumar Menon - Singapore

    "We had a exellent and memorable trip. That all credit to you Cyril.Indepth knowledge about the place, roads, Culture and history. Very matuared and patient. We were in very safe hands on all the time. Thanks a lot, mainly it's memorable expeirience for all of us. We always recomond CYRIL TOURS to our friends and relatives in Dubai and in India." Awdhesh Kumar and gruop

    "We would like to say thank you very much Mr. Cyril for the excellent 7 night tour of Sri Lanka you provided us. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Sri Lanka and the itinerary you arranged. The four hotels (Earls Regency, Amaya Lake, Heritance Kandalama and the Colombo Hilton) were excellent and thoroughly deserved their 5 stars. Your driving skills was excellent. Also very friendly, calm, helpful, and courteous and always prompts. Sri Lanka is a lovely country and the people were very friendly. ..." Suresh and Prashanth

    "We are glad to meet Cyril. He is very kind and patient, very professional in his work. He have lot of knowledge about history of the places and the things that happened in Sri Lanka. He knows all the roads and places very well. Very friendly and stand on time. The tour he recommended us and places were excellent. He replied immediately for mails which we send. He was flexible when we asked him to stop in different places and to change our program. He speaks very good English and explanations..." Ruty Ben Haim from Isarel

    "Cyril is one of the best experienced person in the industry" Ahamed Anver

    "Thank you so much for wonderful Sri Lanka trip.We had a great time. The trip was very relaxing as well as fun. My daughter MAHI who lovingly started calling you "Cyril Dada"(grand farther) Had a memorable trip. She cannot stop talking about elephants. Our trip to Sri Lanka will be full of great memories, its because of you. Thank you for showing us your beautiful country the way we wanted, eating local food, lots of King coconut and Corn stops. We will be surely coming back  to see rest o..." Mithil Patel

    "Dear Cyril, Here are some photos for you as we promised, and also little gift to you. Here is some photos of elephant boy which we were took on elephant ride. Please give to them when you go to Habarana again. We are very grateful to you for your services that you have done to make our holiday in this beautiful country. Still we are thinking over our nice trip with you. It was fantastic, really! Here in Holland, life is normal again. Greeting for your wife and daughter too. George and Cala ..." George and Cala

    "We had an excellent and memorable trip and all credits to Cyril. In-depth knowledge about the places, roads and history and culture. From the airport assistance - Food, accommodation provided and the vehicle was excellent. Very matured and patient, We being on safe hands.  Thanks for making it a memorable experience for all of us.  " Aubry De Souza and group from Dubai

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