What is the Sri Lankan Cultural Triangle?

The Cultural Triangle is a fairly tight area, geographically speaking, in the middle plains of Sri Lanka, and it holds together the island’s most important ancient historical and religious places. The three points that make up this triangle are drawn from Anuradhapura in the north, Polonnaruwa on the east side, and Kandy towards the south.

Within that zone, you find most of Sri Lanka’s UNESCO World Heritage listings, even the famous Sigiriya Rock Fortress and the Dambulla Cave Temples. This area reflects more than 2,500 years of Sinhalese royal history, with enormous brick stupas, detailed royal bathing pools, plus broad monastery remains, all of it showing the vast engineering skill of the old kingdoms.