An Archaeological Study Tour
Sri Lanka
November 16 – December 2, 2008
Led by Prof. Sudharshan Seneviratne
University of Peradeniya


Among the world’s first great Buddhist kingdoms, the island of Sri Lanka offers the traveler wonders far exceeding its small size. As we explore this mystical place where history and legend are almost inseparable, its ancient cities will reveal the intertwining of the earliest examples of Buddhism with Hindu and animist cultures. We will have a glimpse of life under kings who created sophisticated irrigation systems, built magnificent temples and huge dagobas, carved 40-foot-tall Buddhas and one who chose to build his royal residence resplendent with gardens and pools on the top of a 600-foot rock outcropping. We will experience the spectacles of Sri Lanka’s colorful rituals and festivals and the variety of its lush vegetation and wildlife. As we travel through the countryside we will share the highways with working elephants and the sites with Sri Lankan pilgrims. Our journey will take us to six World Heritage sites as well as jungle wildlife sanctuaries, tea plantations, colonial hill stations and monasteries resplendent with fabulous art, giving us an understanding of Sri Lankan culture and history.

Sunday, November 16: Depart London on Sri Lankan Airlines.

Monday, November 17: COLOMBO: We arrive into Colombo early this morning and transfer to the Colombo Hilton. After a leisurely day, our tour begins with an opening lecture by Professor Seneviratne and dinner in the garden of our hotel.

Meals: Dinner

Tuesday, November 18: COLOMBO: Touring begins at the Gotami temple, which houses wall paintings by George Keyt. We will visit the small collection of archaeological and ethnographical material in the National Museum. The day ends with a visit to the Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya, where, according to legend, the Buddha converted the earliest inhabitants of Lanka to Buddhism. The temple is also renowned for its richly decorated walls, including murals painted by two well-known modern artists, Soliyas Mendis and George Keyt.

Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Wednesday, November 19: ANURADHAPURA: En route to Anuradhapura we visit the megalithic burial site at Ibbankatuwa, and continues at Somawathi, a very early stupa. In the late afternoon we will visit Mihintale, site of the island’s first Buddhist sermon and first conversion of a long line of kings. Palm Garden Village.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Thursday, November 20: HABARANA: Touring on today begins at the ancient city of Anuradhapura, royal capital from the late 5th-century BCE until it was sacked and burned by Chola Tamils in 993. It will take us the full day to examine the remains of 15 centuries of continuous occupation. As we stroll amid the ancient buildings we will be awed by the huge dimensions of the three dagobas of the oldest periods and charmed by the unique moonstone thresholds of its monasteries and temples. We will also visit the site museum that displays the sculptures and other precious artifacts from the site. Our hotel for the next four nights will be the Habarana Lodge, conveniently located in the middle of the cultural triangle.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Friday, November 21: HABARANA: The story of King Kasyapa’s retreat to his palace, built 600 feet above the surrounding forest on the rock of Sigiriya, is filled with intrigue, murder, revenge and suicide. It took him seven years to build his citadel and its spectacular gardens, pools and pavilions, designed to blend with the natural landscape. This extraordinary complex is no less beautiful today than it was in the 5th-century BCE. We shall climb Kasyapa’s citadel slowly, stopping to enjoy the water garden terraces, the famous “Sigiriya maidens” painted in a rock gallery, and the magnificent views. We will have earned an afternoon at leisure before our BBQ dinner and traditional devil dance performance tonight.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Saturday, Sunday, November 22 & 23: HABARANA: We will spend the full day at the medieval capital of Polonnaruwa. A series of great builders have provided us with a magnificent site with acres of unique architectural elements, delicately engraved columns and wonderful friezes. The new site museum will end this fabulous day. Sunday touring begins at the huge Aukana Buddha and the massive 4th-century AD reservoir at Kalavewa. We then continue to the great rock temple of Dambulla. The ascent is much less arduous than Sigiriya and rewards us with cave temples decorated with paintings and effigies carved out of the living rock. In the late afternoon we will offer a choice of a guided walk in the nearby nature reserve to study medicinal plants and wildlife or an elephant trek.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner daily

Monday, November 24: KANDY: En route to Kandy we will stop to visit Aluvihare, the site where the Buddhist doctrine Tripitaka was finally written down on talipot palm leaves. After viewing the cave temple’s graphic depictions of what awaits sinners, we have arranged an informal discussion about Sri Lankan Buddhism with the chief monks of this important temple. We will also visit a spice garden and stop for lunch at a charming restaurant created by a popular folk artist. Touring continues in Kandy at the Anglican Cathedral. This evening we will visit the Temple of the Tooth at the time of the puja, or prayer offerings. Our hotel, the Citadel, is on the Mahaweli River, a short drive from the center of town.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Tuesday, November 25: KANDY: Touring today begins at three temples of the Kandyan era: Gadaladeniya Viharaya, with its strong southern Indian influences reminiscent of the Hindu art of Vijayanagar, Lankatilaka Viharaya, and Kataragama Devale, famed for its carved wooden pillars. We then continue to the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage for lunch in a restaurant overlooking the elephants’ favorite bathing hole. We return to Kandy with time to visit a batik workshop and have some free time in town before attending a performance of traditional dance.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Wednesday, November 26: NUWARA ELIYA:Before leaving Kandy we will visit the lovely Peradeniya Botanic Gardens. Our drive to Nuwara Eliya is along the edge of a lush highland landscape carpeted with green tea bushes. We will stop to sample the famed Ceylon teas and learn the secrets of fermenting and processing the tea leaves. The next two nights will be spent in Nuwara Eliya, a former British mountain resort, at the very colonial Grand Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Thursday, November 27: KATARAGAMA: Another spectacular mountain drive brings us to Ella Gap and lunch overlooking a precipice with views across the hills to the Indian Ocean. We continue to Kataragama to visit the colorful markets and shrines associated with this pilgrim town. We will arrive at the new Rosen Renaissance Hotel with time to relax before our visit to the Kataragama Temple to witness its colorful and unique evening puja ceremony.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Friday, November 28: GALLE: Our early morning jeep safari to Yala National Park provides an opportunity to see wild buffaloes, black bears, elephants and, if we are really lucky, spotted panthers. En route to Galle we will stop at the Vishnu Shrine reerected on the site of a famous pilgrim place. We will arrive in Galle in time to visit the Marine Archaeological Project before checking into the lovely Lighthouse Hotel.

Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Saturday, November 29: GALLE: This morning we will visit the Martin Wikramasinghe Folk Museum for an excellent overview of traditional life in Sri Lanka. We then continue to the historical center of Galle, including its ramparts and fort, as well as the National Marine Museum, leaving time to stroll the lanes of traditional Galle facades.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Sunday, November 30: GALLE: This morning our touring will include the fishing village of Weligama to see a megalith carved with a figure identified as Kushta Raja, the “leper king,” and the Purvarama monastery, whose image house is considered to be one of the jewels of Buddhist painting. The remainder of the day will be at leisure before a performance of the Kolam Dance and our gala farewell dinner.
Meals: Breakfast daily & dinner

Monday, Tuesday, December 1 & 2: COLOMBO: Returning to Colombo we stop at Ambalangoda, known for its wooden mask craftsmen, arriving into Colombo in the early afternoon. Our flight departs for London earlyTuesday morning.Hilton Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast daily & 1 lunch