Ramayana Trail is the most popular tour package in the Sri Lanka among the Hindu devotees.Accoring to the epic of Ramayana, Sri Lanka was known as the “Lankapura” and the King of the Lankapura was Ravana. King Ravana abducted the Seetha; the consort of the lord Ram in ancient India.The epic of Ramayana depicts the rescue mission of the Seetha after defeating the Ravana.
Fifty Two (52) sites relevant to the Epic of Ramayana have been identified in Sri Lanka including the Ashok Vatika, Sanjeevani Mountains and the famous Ram Setuor the Adam’s bridge. Further to that there are many more Ramayan related sites such as Munneswaram temple, Manvari temple or Ramalinga shivan, Ravana caves, Ravana falls, Thiru Koneshwaram temple, Sri Bhakta Hanuman temple, Gayathri peeth, Seetha Amman temple, Divurumpola temple, Anjaneyar temple, Ussangoda ,Kelaniya Vibheeshana temple and many more.
01. Ashok vatika & Seetha amman temple
Ashok Vatika is the place, where the Seetha Devi was kept captive by the King Ravana. Instead of staying in the Palace of Ravana, Seetha Devi preferred to stay in the garden under an Ashoka tree. The Area is located around 8Km away from the Nuwara Eliya city. Exact place believe to be in the Seetha Eliya and Hakgala Botanical garden area. Seetha Amman Hindu temple is a shrine dedicated for the Seetha Devi. Devotees can visit here and perform rituals. This Place is one of the main attractions among the Hindu devotees.
02. Sanjeevani mountains
According to the epic of Ramayana, prince Ram and his brother Lakshmana were wounded during the battle with the Ravana. So the Hanuman was dispatched to Himalaya Mountain to bring the herbal plant Sanjeevani to treat them. Hanuman visited mount Dronagiri of Himalaya, but he forgot the exact name of the Plant. So he brought entire mount Dronagiri. According to the legendary, five parts of the mountain dropped in while he was jumping from the India to Sri Lanka. So Five mountains have been identified as Sanjeevani mountains in Sri Lanka in Dolukanda, Ritigala, Roomassala, Thallady and Kachchativu. These mountains are consists of lots of Herbal plants and the vegetation pattern in the mountains are different from the other areas.
03. Manavari temple & Munneswaram temple
Munneswaram Hindu Temple is located around 80 Km away (2 hours) from the Colombo city. After defeating the Ravana, Prince Ram left for Ayodhya using the Pushpaka Viman.Ravana was a Brahmin and Ram was followed by the Brahmahathi Dosham (Curse for killing Brahmin).Near to the Munneswaram this curse stopped following. So stop near Munneswaram and prayed for God Shiva. Instructions were received to install five Lingams in five places. So the first Lingam was installed in the Manavari temple located near to the Munneswaram.It is one of the Ishwaram temple along with the Thiru Koneswaram (trinco), Thiruketheeswaram (Mannar), Naguleswaram (Jaffna) and Thondeshwaram (Matara).
04. Thiru koneswaram temple
Thiru Koneswaram is a one of the five Ishwaram temple in Sri Lanka and located in the Eastern coastal city named Trincomalee which is around 270 Km (5 Hours) away from the Colombo city. Second Lingam was installed in here.According to the legendries the temple was built by the Agasthi Rishi on the instruction of God Shiva to appreciate the devotion of the King Ravana.
05. Gayathri peetham
Gayathri Peetham is a temple dedicated for Goddess Gayathri and located in the City of Nuwaraeliya. Ravana’s Son Meganath (Indrajith) performed two rituals known as Siva Thapas & Nikumbala Yagya. So the God Shiva, God Vishnu & God Brahma (Tridev) appeared in here.
06. Divurumpola temple
Divurumpola temple is the place where the Seetha performed her fire test or the “Agni Pareeksha” to prove her chastity and devotion to her husband lord Rama according to the legendries. Divurumpola means the place of oath in Sinhala language. Present Day this is a Buddhist temple and located around 18 Km away from the Nuwara Eliya city.
07. Sri Bhaktha hanuman temple
Sri Bhaktha Hanuman Temple is a temple dedicated for the Hanuman and it is located in a beautiful place in the Ramboda area (Between Kandy to Nuwaraeliya).This is one of the important places to visit in the Ramayana Tour. It is believed to be Hanuman was begun to look for the Seetha Devi in this area. The temple is open for the devotees from the 7.00 am to 1.00pm and 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm.