A walk to the Ritigala Forest Monastery...

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Ritigala is one of the most famous cultural and eco tourist destination in Sri Lanka enriched with bio diversity in dry zone of Sri Lanka. This is situated in the north-central province of Sri Lanka which is about 766 m above sea level. This is a mountain range with several peaks and out of them Ritigala is the highest peak which is about 2514 feets in height.

This is said to be an ancient Buddhist monastery and now declared as one of the strict natural reserve in order to maintain it's prestine environment. Anyone entering can have a look into the flora and fauna which one can observe in central hills of Sri Lanka; that is in the wet zone rather than in the dry zone.

Moreover, micro-climates found here is said to be a mesmerizing feature of this, where at the foot of the Ritigala range there is a dry and hot climate and once you go to the top you will experience a complete opposite climate; cold and wet. Along with this there are multiple other reasons which makes it a must travel for any eco-traveler. One of the most important reason among those is it's historical value.

According to 'Ramayana', monkey god-Hanuman used Ritigala mountain as a launch pad to leap back to South India after discovering where Ravana was holding Sita. And also it says that when Hanuman was sent to Himalayas in search of the medicinal herb "sansevi" to cure Lakshman at war in Sri Lanka. Having forgotten which herb was required, Hanuman returned with an entire chunk of the mountain. On his way back, three pieces of this chunk are believed to had fallen around Sri Lanka and one of these spots is Ritigala and that is why the Ritigala mountain is rich in medicinal herbs, flora and fauna which cannot be found anywhere in the world.

According to 'Mahavamsa' this was earlier named as 'Arittha-pabbata' during king Pandukabhaya's ruling period and since then this became a sanctuary for the kings against different wars. And later, gradually this sanctuary turned into a monastery for monks.

So this is a place with bio diversity, historical and cultural value and the ruins there exhibits the pride of Sri Lanka and the culture we had during ancient periods.

Visit this fascinating place to fuel up your wanderlust and learn about the culture and the life style of our ancestors; but remember to take nothing other than memories and to leave nothing other than your footprints...