This sacred city was the first capital of Sri Lanka. It is really old: already in 380 BC it became the Singhalese capital. One of the most famous (and eldest) monuments at the site is the sacred bo tree near the centre. It was grown from a cutting from the tree in India where Buddha achieved enlightenment, and brought here in the 3rd century BC by Sanghamitta, the founder of an order of Buddhist nuns.
