Lankarama, Buddhist stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Lankarama is a stupa in Anuradhapura built on a raised circular platform approximately 406 meters across that sits about 3 meters above ground level. At the center of this platform stands the main stupa structure, roughly 14 meters in diameter.

King Valagamba built Lankarama, known in the chronicles as Silasobbhakandaka Chetiya, at Galhebakada in the Anuradhapura kingdom. The stupa's original form is unknown, and the present structure results from later renovation. Its ruined vatadage pillars and the four entrances to the raised inner courtyard remain visible.

The stone pillars surrounding this stupa show where a vatadage once stood, a covered structure that was typical of ancient Sri Lankan Buddhist designs. When you walk around the site, these pillars help you visualize how the original building enclosed and protected the sacred center.

The raised platform offers plenty of space to walk around and view the site from different angles. Visitors should take their time to walk the perimeter and observe the stone pillars that mark the old structure.

The stupa's raised terrace is about 3 m above ground and 406 m across, while the stupa itself measures only 14 m in diameter. Four entrances lead onto the inner terrace, and traces of Buddha statues placed around the stupa have been recorded. The nearby Eth Pokuna, 159 m long and 9.5 m deep, was fed from the Periyamkulama Tank by underground canals that still function.