Mihintale

Mihintale is where, by tradition, the monk Mahinda met King Devanampiyatissa in the third century BC and converted him, bringing Buddhism to the island, which makes this modest hill one of the most significant places in Sri Lankan history. A broad granite stairway of more than eighteen hundred shallow steps climbs it in flights beneath frangipani trees, passing the ruins of a monastic complex on the way, with a refectory, a hospital thought to be among the oldest known anywhere, and inscribed stone tablets setting out the rules of the community. Higher up stand the Kantaka Chetiya with its fine carved frontispieces, the white Ambasthala stupa on the spot of the meeting, and a bare rock summit reached by cut footholds where the views run out over the tank country. Poson, the June full moon, brings tens of thousands of white-clad pilgrims.

What you actually see

• The great stairway - the granite flights of more than eighteen hundred steps.
• Kantaka Chetiya - the early stupa with its finely carved frontispieces.
• Ambasthala and the summit rock - the stupa at the meeting place and the bare rock above.
• The monastic ruins - the refectory, ancient hospital and inscribed rule tablets.

When to go

May to September is drier in this part of the island; the stone is scorching underfoot at midday, and since shoes must be removed in the sacred areas, early morning or late afternoon is far more comfortable. Poson in June is the great pilgrimage, spectacular but extremely crowded.

Honest expectations

The steps are many and the last section to the summit rock is a genuine scramble on smooth granite with a rail, which is not for everyone, and it must all be done barefoot in the sacred zone, on stone that gets painfully hot. Shoulders and knees must be covered. It is usually visited as a half-day add-on to Anuradhapura rather than a destination in itself, and monkeys here are practised thieves.

Nearby

Anuradhapura's ancient city is twenty minutes west; Sigiriya and Dambulla lie to the southeast.