A ruined forest monastery in the dry-zone wilderness northwest of Minneriya, occupied by ascetic monks from the 1st century BC and now being slowly reclaimed by the forest. Stone meditation platforms, raised stone walkways and bathing pools. No gilded statues, no tourist infrastructure, almost no other visitors.
Nallur Kovil, Jaffna
The most important Hindu temple in Sri Lanka - at the spiritual heart of the Tamil north
A towering Dravidian gopuram in the tradition of great South Indian temple architecture, in Jaffna at the northern tip of the island. The evening puja fills the outer courtyard with conch shells, oil lamps and sacred ash. During the 25-day Nallur festival in August, it becomes one of the most intense pilgrimage concentrations in South Asia.
