Basawakkulama Tank
The oldest reservoir in the city, built over two thousand three hundred years ago, a modest but historic tank that still supplies water and shelters abundant birdlife.
Also known as Abhaya Wewa, Basawakkulama holds a genuinely singular distinction among Sri Lanka's ancient reservoirs, it's considered the very first reservoir recorded in the country's history, traditionally attributed to King Pandukabhaya in the 4th century BCE, making it older than even Tissa Wewa and Nuwara Wewa, the two other great tanks that together sustained Anuradhapura's population for well over a millennium. Its construction reflects just how central water management was to the founding of the ancient capital itself, a city that simply could not have grown into the sprawling religious and political center it became without this early, foundational commitment to reliable irrigation.
Part of a broader tank network that came to define dry zone Sri Lankan civilization, Basawakkulama, together with Tissa Wewa and Nuwara Wewa, ensured Anuradhapura's population had access to both drinking water and irrigation for rice cultivation even through the long dry months between monsoons, a system so advanced for its era that it ranked among the greatest feats of hydraulic engineering anywhere in the ancient world. Later kings continued expanding the surrounding network, King Vasabha in particular constructed numerous additional ponds fed by subterranean channels connected to this same broader water supply system, building on Basawakkulama's original foundation across subsequent centuries.
Today, walking along Basawakkulama's western edge, the reservoir gradually gives way to rice paddies stretching toward the horizon, offering a genuinely peaceful spot to watch the sky change color at sunset, a quiet, unassuming counterpart to Anuradhapura's grander monuments that nonetheless made everything else in the ancient city, its temples, its stupas, its thousands of resident monks, possible in the first place.
At a glance
- Entry fee: Free
- Opening hours: Open all day
- Time needed: 30 minutes
- Best time: Late afternoon
Getting there
On the northwestern side of the sacred city, near Abhayagiri.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to visit Basawakkulama Tank?
- Free.
- What are the opening hours at Basawakkulama Tank?
- Open all day.
- How long should I spend at Basawakkulama Tank?
- Plan for 30 minutes.
- When is the best time to visit Basawakkulama Tank?
- Late afternoon.
- How do I get to Basawakkulama Tank?
- On the northwestern side of the sacred city, near Abhayagiri.