Mihintale Things to Do

On the other side of the meditation rock, another series of steps leads up to a large seated Buddha.
The statue itself is new but what makes it interesting is its pose. The left hand is in meditation pose and the right in explanatory one.

Rock cut steps lead to the summit of Aradhana Gala (Meditation Rock). It’s from here where Mahinda preached his first sermon.
You might be curious to do so, but think it twice: the stairs proved extremely crowded and I hesitated finding myself with one foot in the vain.

More steps up and there you find the tolls to the site! Admission ticket is required and as obligatory for Buddhist sites you have to remove your shoes and hats.
At the centre of the upper terrace is the Ambasthala dagoba (mean the mango tree dagoba) which a relatively a small scale structure. According to tradition it covers the place where Mahinda stood when he me the King of Anuradhapura.

At the bottom of the site, near the car park the first thing you see are….stairs. Don’t panic! Take a deep breath and start climbing. They are much more easy to climb than you might think.
At the end you reach the first level terrace where you see the modest ruin remains of Medamaluwa monastery, the most important in Mihintale. In fact the only visible remains are big stone tablets some with Sinhalese scripts on them. The interesting about these stele is that it contains rules and responsibilities by Mahinda for the monks and the rest monastery staff.

A steep path flight climb will reward you a great view of the surrounding.