Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa was the medieval capital of Sri Lanka between AD993 and around AD1293.  It's strategic position commanded all the crossings over the Mahaweli River and the southern provinces.  In its prime the city was surrounded by 6km of strong encircling walls.  The ancient city contains many archaeological relics and monuments and is one of the best planned sites in the country. The city is also populated by ‘toque macaques’, a species of monkey that were featured in the 2015 Disney nature documentary “Monkey Kingdom”. 

The ruins of the ancient city stand on the east shore of a large artificial lake, the Topa Wewa Lake, or Parakrama Samurdraya (the Sea of Parakrama), built by King Parakramabahu I (1153-86). It is the largest ancient man-made rainwater reservoir in Sri Lanka, and was a colossal achievement for its time, spreading over 2,500 hectares.  Compared to the size of the ancient city, 122 hectares, it was, and still is, enormous.

The whole site has UNESCO World Heritage status and a restoration programme has been underway since 1981.  The

ruins are spread out over a wide area.  Many tourists rent bicycles to get around, but of course we had our driver plus a guide for the afternoon.

We started our tour by visiting the archeological museum, well worth a visit as it puts the scale of the site in perspective, as well as showing models of reconstructions of how the building s would once have looked.

From here we saw the statue of King Parakramabahu.  A party of Sri Lankan school boys was visiting at the same time.  It is a custom introduced by the English that all schoolchildren in Sri Lanka wear white uniforms. The uniforms of these school boys appeared to be modelled on the MCC cricket team, although there was no uniformity amongst the caps worn.  A Linkin Park peak seemed to be a popular choice!

Next up we visited the Palace of King Parakramabahu. The surviving walls are around 15 metres high and are of extra-ordinary thickness.  The original building must have been an imposing edifice, the upper floors being constructed of wood, richly decorated and standing 7 storeys, or 45 metres high. 

Across the way is the remains of the Royal Audience Hall – embellished with lion portals, graceful pillars and a moonstone. (a delicately carved stepping stone).A

The centrepiece of the ancient city was the Dalada Maluwa or Terrace of the Tooth Relic.  Today it is known as The Quadrangle. There are 3 temples here built by three successive generations of kings.  The 11th century Atadage and the 12th century Hatadage both housed the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha.  The last, the Vatadage, is a circular relic house and possesses an elegance and beauty that is rare even in ancient Sri Lanka.  At the foot of the access stairs is a wonderfully preserved moonstone, depicting the Buddhist path to enlightenment, whilst at the head of the stairs is a Buddha statue carved in stone.

Also in the Quadrangle is the Gal Potha, a massive 26 ft slab

of stone on which King Nissankamalla had his own deeds recorded in stone, and The Sathmahal Prasada, a seven storeyed edifice constructed in a stepped pyramidal form that contains seven square levels. According to the archaeologists, the layout of the edifice resembles Vat Kukut at Lamphun, Thailand built in the eight century. Our

guide, who also professed to be an archaeologist, gave a different interpretation, and told us it had been constructed after a visit by an emissary from Cambodia.  We had to agree, it did bear a resemblance to Angkor Wat.

We saw the Rankoth Vehera built by King Nissankamalla, the largest dagoba in Polonnaruwa. This enormous dagoba that measures 550 ft. in girth belongs to the Alahana Pirivena monastery complex where 3,000 monks used to worship together.

Finally we visited the Gal Vihara rock sculptures.  These are carved out of a cliff-face of granite, comprising 3 images of Buddha in various positions. The earliest figure shows Buddha standing on a lotus plinth in the "blessing position"; a later carving shows Buddha meditating cross-legged, whilst the third, and biggest carving, at 14 metres long, shows the reclining Buddha.