Eth Pokuna (Elephant Pond)
North Central Province
About Eth Pokuna (Elephant Pond)
Eth Pokuna - the Elephant Pond - is ancient Anuradhapura thinking big even by its own standards: a rectangular reservoir some 159 metres long by 52 wide and around 9 metres deep, cut and banked in the heart of the Abhayagiri monastery to store water for its five thousand monks. The volume comfortably exceeds six Olympic swimming pools; the name nods to the scale (and elephants may well have bathed here between duties). Its engineering hides in plain sight: underground conduits, still traceable, fed the pond from the Periyamkulama tank far away, filtering and delivering water with the same quiet mastery on show at the Kuttam Pokuna twin ponds nearby. Today trees leans over the great banked sides, monkeys skitter along the stone steps that descend into green water, and most visitors to the famous quarter never find it - which makes standing at its rim, recalculating what 'ancient plumbing' means, all the sweeter.
Top Activities
- ✓The great pond and its stepped banks
- ✓Ancient underground conduit traces
- ✓Abhayagiri monastery quarter loop
- ✓Combine with Lankaramaya nearby
- ✓Birdlife around the water
Nearby Attractions
Travel Tips
Pair with Kuttam Pokuna for the full ancient-waterworks story.
The scale reads best from the corners - walk the full rim.
It's unfenced and uncrowded; keep children back from the steep banks.
Quick Info
Best Time
May to September
Weather
Hot; the tree-lined banks are pleasantly shaded.
Estimated Daily Budget
8.3564°N, 80.3906°E
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