Mihintale is the rocky peak at which the Buddhist monk Mahinda met with King Devanampiyatissa to first introduce Buddhism to Sri Lanka. For this reason, relics from 2300 years of history have been archaeologically discovered at this site with rock-cut temples, monasteries, and monks' cave dwellings scattered throughout the area. We began at the quiet, unvisited site known as the Black Pool where 7 monks still reside in a cave dwelling that has been occupied by the most ascetic of monks for two thousand years. Besides the ruins, we saw some great animals here including a chameleon in the wild! The main site at Mihintale is accessed via a busy staircase that leads to a large seated Buddha, an even large stupa (both white), and a precarious climb up to the stack of boulders that is the very peak. The views in every direction are amazing, monkeys abound, and, luckily, trails leading off into the forest quickly take one to quiet ruins and spots of complete solitude. So far, the "hot, dry plains" of Sri Lanka's central, historic region are anything but that. We expected hot, dusty plains but, instead, have found nothing but a lush, green and cool landscape. Looking down upon it all from Mihintale peak, we could see only verdant green jungle as far as the eye could see in every direction. So far, Sri Lanka is more beautiful than we had imagined. Thirty minutes at dusk, in a two thousand year old meditation cave with a view of the sunset, dagoba, and sky turning from red to pink to purple gave me the perfect setting to reflect more on the happenings of the previous two days and to send all my energy and love to my loved ones back home.
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