Tag Archives: Anuradhapura

5% of Sri Lanka is Water

AnuradhapuraAmazing I know, but 5% of Sri Lanka is made up of rivers, lakes and tanks.

“Tanks” are man-made lakes, a bit like reservoirs.

No more is this visible than the area of Anuradhapura, where the former capital resorted to protect the water source in order to use it to irrigate the surrounding fields. In this way, the population of Anuradhapura could become self-sufficient on its neighbouring crops, especially rice. At the time, this was an amazing feat of engineering.

Examples of  “tanks” in this area include Basawkkulama Tank, Tissa Wewa and Nuwara Wewa. “Wewa” is sinhala for “lake”.

To explore these tanks, we have great places to stay in Anuradhapura:

HOLIDAY RENTALS IN ANURADHAPURA