Anuradhapura - Sri Lanka surprises us

We travel by train from Colombo to Anuradhapura. Due to the cyclone that destroyed many of the railway tracks in November/December, we accepted the offer to travel across the entire island for 14 days, visiting all the attractions. It feels good to be away from the big cities - tranquility, birds chirping, buzzing insects. We will experience a lot in these 14 days - I will keep it brief and try to organize my pictures on the phone and especially in my mind. The images are self-explanatory, among them are keywords.

The historical site, the ancient city of Anuradhapura, was founded in the 4th century BC around the Sri Mahabodhi Tree by a monk and was the first capital of Sri Lanka. By the year 100 AD, the city was about the ninth largest in the world. We are reminded of Angkor Wat and are amazed.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anuradhapura

The next day, we visit Mihintale, one of the oldest sites of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Someone tells us it is the oldest.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihintale

At the temples and ruins, we are greeted with a plethora of colors, music, laughter, praying, and meditating. Large, expansive, impressive! Sacred sites. Visitors who engage with us, monks inviting us to sit with them, helpful people showing us the way. All with a smile.

We enjoy not having to worry about our transport anymore, happily sharing stories with our driver Manoj. We are very surprised at how remarkably good the roads are and that there is no plastic waste lying around. Sri Lanka, an island with a wonderful landscape, a landscape we have never seen before. With a charming authenticity, clouds like paintings, rock formations seemingly tossed by giants, a rich, protected nature, lush greens, reddish-brown earth, and a very advanced tourism offering. We feel good; we didn’t expect this beauty that Sri Lanka offers.