Ritigala

[5] Its elevation is higher than the other main tourist attractions of the north central plains, namely Sigiriya, Dambulla, and Mihintale.

During the northeast monsoon (December to February), Ritigala experiences the highest rainfall (125 cm) of entire dry zone.

[6] The wet micro climate at Ritigala is a singular occurrence in the north central plains, the ancient Sri Lanka's “Wewu Bandi Rata” meaning “the land of rainwater reservoirs” in Sinhalese.

[7][4] Ritigala reserve is in the Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests ecoregion, and is home to five plant communities.

According to popular belief, non-human Lord Hanuman of supernatural powers, traveled over Ritigala, and, by accident, dropped a chunk off a mountain of the Himalaya range he was carrying from India to Lanka for its medicinal herbs.

Lord Rama's brother, Prince Lakshmana was mortally wounded in battle and only a rare herb in the Himalaya could save his life.

Having found the location where Sita was held, Hanuman made use of Ritigala Kanda as a launching pad to take a leap across to South India.

The ruins of Ritigala monastery are located on the eastern side of the mountain at the foot of the gorge which separates the main peak from the northern ridge of the range.

The monastery precinct begins at the office of the on-site branch of Department of Archeology of Sri Lanka close to the foot of the reservoir named Banda Pokuna.

[12][13] The order of ritual bathing tank, ruins of entrance complex and a pedestrian path seem to indicate devotees in large numbers visiting the monastery.

The steep steps here onwards lead up to a beautifully constructed pavement, a stone path 1.5 meters wide that meander upwards through the forest, linking the major buildings of the monastery.

With the exception of a few broken granite Buddha statues in a number of caves, Ritigala has none of the traditional icons of Buddhist temples: no bo tree, no stupas.

In the ninth century AD, King Sena I made endowment of the monastery, a larger complex higher up the slope for a group of Buddhist ascetic monks called the Pansukulikas (rag robes) who devoted themselves to extreme austerity in search of supreme enlightenment.

It is believed that these decorated stones were meant to depict the architectural and ritualistic excesses of the orthodox monastic chapters to which the Pamsukuilikaa (monks devoted to extreme austerity) were opposed.