Religious Attractions
Sri Lanka has an incredible religious heritage created and passed down over 2500 years since Buddhism was introduced to the country. Wonderful Buddhist temples, Dagobas, statues and various other monuments and structures built by ancient Sinhalese kings bring much magnificence and grandeur to Sri Lanka’s religious heritage while reflecting architectural marvels of the ancestors. Majority of Sri Lanka’s eight world heritage sites consist of these Buddhist Temple sites such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Kandy Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic and Dambulla Golden Temple.
Today, the island is inhabited by people of various ethnic and religious backgrounds while Buddhists being dominant with over 70% of the population. Hence, many Hindu temples, churches of various denominations and mosques can be seen across the island. During the colonial era, a lot of churches were built in the island by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English.
