Guinness World Records lists this as the oldest known tree planted by human hands. The date it gives is 288 BC, and that date comes from the Mahavamsa, the island's ancient chronicle. By its account the tree began as a branch of the fig at Bodh Gaya under which the Buddha found enlightenment, carried to Sri Lanka by Sanghamitta, daughter of the emperor Ashoka, and planted for King Devanampiya Tissa. Even Wikipedia cannot settle on one year, giving 236 BC in one place and 288 BC in another. Either way it is over 2,200 years, on tradition rather than measurement. What it has lived through since is better documented. Storms broke branches in 1907 and 1911, and another was cut off in 1929. In 1985 the upper terrace was attacked by the LTTE during the civil war. Its wall, about 3 metres high, was built under King Kirti Sri Rajasinha in the eighteenth century to keep wild elephants out, and a golden fence followed in 1969. The traffic has also run the other way. Wikipedia's article on the Bodh Gaya tree says the one standing there now was replanted from a cutting in 1881, and counts it among this tree's descendants. The tree stands on a terrace about 6.5 metres up, behind railings, and visitors watch from the lower terraces, which hold younger Bodhi trees. It is still a place of worship. Dress in light clothing that covers shoulders and ankles, and take your shoes off in the precinct.
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Getting there
Mihindu Mawatha, Mahamevnawa Gardens, Anuradhapura
You can recognise it as the tree on the highest terrace, about 6.5 metres up behind tall railings and a golden fence. The Bodhi trees on the four terraces below it are younger.
Open to worshippers and visitors year-round inside the Sacred City; reported entry fee SLR 200 per History Hit (check current ticket for the sacred city). Security check on arrival. Dress modestly in light or white clothing with shoulders and ankles covered; shoes off in the precinct (standard Buddhist practice, not stated on the pages fetched). The tree stands on a high terrace behind tall railings; visitors view it from the lower terraces and cannot enter the upper terrace.
In the Sacred City of Anuradhapura, about 2 km by tuk-tuk or bicycle from the new town and the railway station.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from. The story was written with AI from these sources, and readers who know the tree correct it.