Ritigala Forest Monastery

PLACES TO EXPLORE

Sri Lanka compresses an astonishing diversity of landscape and culture into a landmass smaller than Ireland. Within a few hours’ drive you can move from ancient kingdoms carved in stone to rainforests dripping with endemic birdlife, from surf towns to elephant corridors, from colonial forts to cloud-wrapped tea estates. Each region holds its own character, rhythm and reason to arrive slowly.

Ritigala Forest Monastery

Ritigala is one of the most archaeologically and atmospherically unusual sites in Sri Lanka – a forest monastery complex built between the 1st and 10th centuries into a mountain ecosystem so biologically distinct it was designated a strict nature reserve. The ruins are unrestored, unguided by signboards and approached through a forest trail where monkeys watch from above. The deliberate strangeness of the architecture, built for solitude rather than display, creates a singular experience.