Sri Lanka’s first and greatest ancient capital – a UNESCO World Heritage Site of towering brick stupas, vast sacred reservoirs, the ruins of monastic complexes that once housed thousands of monks, and the Sri Maha Bodhi, a fig tree grown from a cutting of the original Bodhi tree that has stood continuously for over 2,300 years and is the oldest documented planted tree on earth. Walking through the ancient city with a knowledgeable guide who can bring the scale and sophistication of what was built here to life is a genuinely humbling and extraordinary experience.