ANARAJAPOllE. 185 



and creepers, giving- it a very picturesque appear- 

 ance, 



Pollanarua, being the very hot-bed of fever, I got 

 out of it as soon as possible, and my route now lay 

 through forests and vast sandy plains, here and there 

 •dotted with low jungle and swamps, sterile deserts, but 

 rarely relieved by fertile valleys or tracts of patanas, 

 •coarse wiry grass affording pasture for cattle, so common 

 in most parts of Ceylon. 



Anarajapore was the capital of the Singhalese kings 

 from B.C. the fifth to a.d. the eighth century, and is 

 situated N. Lat. 8, and E. Long. 80, or very nearly so. 

 Its site, by the way, has recently been selected for the 

 seat of Government of the newly-created North-Central 

 province. In the eighth century, owing to encroach- 

 ments l^y the Malabars into the northern district, 

 Pollanarua became the capital, and after that Damboul, 

 as already stated ; then between 1266 and 1410 half a 

 dozen other towns took their place, when Kandy 

 was chosen as the residence of the native king. As 

 early as a.d. 477 the Singhalese built a fort of great 

 strength and beauty upon a high rock, called "Sihagiri," 

 situated near the centre of the island. 



Already on the road to Anarajapore, as well as in 

 its immediate neighbourhood, I noticed a great many 



