Ritigala

Ritigala

Ritigala is a mountain and also an ancient Buddhist Monastery located in North Central province. Ritigala is the highest mountain located in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Ritigala mountain range is consist of 04 peaks and height of the highest peak is about 766 m and it is called at Ritigala mountain. Ritigala mountain range has been declared as a Strict Natural Reserve due to its environmental values.

Ruins of the Ritigala Monastery belongs to the Anuradhapura kingdom. It consists lot of caves and ruins of other ancient buildings. At the ancient time Ritigala was a Buddhist Monastery and lot of Buddhist monks had been living in this premises.

Ritigala

Ritigala has very specific climate and environmental conditions. The climate conditions at the summit of the mountain has considerable difference with respect to the foot. Ritigala is located in dry zone, but the upper part of mountain has wet zone climate conditions. The types of flora in upper part can be seen in central hills of Sri Lanka. Therefore, Ritigala is considered as a unique area in Sri Lanka. The wild animals such as Elephants, Leopards and Bears can be found in Ritigala. With this cultural and environmental values, currently Ritigala is one of best attraction in Sri Lanka among the both local and foreign tourists.