Top 11 Places to Visit in Polonnaruwa
1. The Royal Palace
2. The Shiva Devale No. 2
On a visit to the Polonnaruwa Heritage City, the Royal Palace is a never miss attraction on the trip. This Royal Palace of the great King Parakumba (1153-1186 ) had been constructed as a seven-story building. It took the construction around seven years and seven months to be completed. Out of the 7 stories having 1000 rooms, only 3 stories with 55 rooms are remaining. The Palace had been destroyed by an invader from south Indian named “Maga’.
The Shiva Devale No. 2 is considered to be the oldest building in the city of Polonnaruwa as it dates way back to the South Indian Chola dynasty period when the Indian invaders had established this city. Unlike many of the buildings of the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, it had been created entirely of stone. Due to this reason, the structure today is in a much similar condition as it was when it was built centuries ago. The statue of Lord Shiva’s mount, Nandi the bull is something to watch out for.
3. The Audience Hall
5. The Swimming Pool
The Audience Hall is a monument having beautiful stone carved elephants alongside each of its walls. Parakramabahu I’s Audience Hall is popular for the array of elephants. All of the carved elephants look different from each another. The steps to the entrance of the Audience Hall are pretty impressive, with some beautiful lions at the top of each of the side.
This sacred quadrangle has a number of significant sacred monuments. It is a representation of the grandest architecture of the Ancient city of Polonnaruwa during that period. The extremely eye-catching scene of the entire quadrangle is believed to be the circular Vatadage. Four large Buddha statues surround the middle of the shrine.
6. The Dagaba Kiri Vihara
7. The Pabalu Vehera
This is the third largest dagaba of the Ancient Polonnaruwa city and it is in excellent condition. The origin of this uniquely shaped Pabalu Vehera stupa is yet to be discovered. It has been built by a consort of the king great Parakramabahu ( 1153-1186 AD). This stupa is currently called by the name of “Pabalu” which means beads. This is due to the reason that a large number of glass beads had been found at the time of the excavation of the area near to the stupa. The top, as well as the center parts of the stupa, have been destroyed by the invaders and treasure hunters just recently.
8. The Buddha statue at Lankatilaka
The Lankatilaka Vihara is said to be one of the emblematic structures of an ancient kingdom of the city of Polonnaruwa. Two great walls created a narrow aisle that led the way to a very impressive, headless Buddha statue is still standing. The height of the statue is almost over 14m high. It was built by the great King Parakramabahu.
9. Lord Buddha figures at Gal Vihara
This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the perfect specimen of Lord Buddha statue created with solid stone. It was built during the reign of the great King Parakramabahu (1153-1186 A.C). The reclining Buddha sculpture is 14 m long, which represents Buddha entering the Nirvana stage. The sculptor artist of the Gal Vihara possessed a great deal of skill and expertise in the field of stone sculpture in the land of Sri Lanka.
10. The Rankot Vihara
The Rankot Vihara stupa had been created by Nissanka Malla of the ancient city of Polonnaruwa. He had ruled the country for almost a decade from 1187 to 1196. The Rankoth Vehera have been created keeping in mind the old tradition of the Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya. It has an impressive height of 54 meters. The stone inscription near to the stupa describes it to be known as “Ruwanweli”.
11.Polonnaruwa Tank
The tank is believed to be an ancient reservoir of water for the city. The country of Sri Lanka is full of a variety of tanks. The ancient city of Polonnaruwa is situated on the banks of the Topa Tank. The tank is a beautiful location for sightseeing. The tank is raised up from the town so one only see it if one walks towards it.