Cultural Holidays in Sri Lanka - Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa

Second only to Anuradhapura in the ancient history of Sri Lanka, Polonnaruwa served as the island’s capital from the 11th to 13th centuries, a relatively brief but glorious epoch that witnessed a flowering of Buddhist arts and architecture.

A contentious capital

In AD 993 the invading armies of the Tamil Cholas looted Anuradhapura and moved the island’s capital to Polonnaruwa for the next 77 years. From the outset, the new city had a cosmopolitan mix of south Indian Hindu and Sinhalese Buddhist cultures. The valiant King Vijayabahu I (1055–1110) drove the Cholas out of the island in 1073, but retained Polannaruwa as his capital. Forty years of bloody civil war followed his death, until, in 1161, Parakramabahu I captured Polonnaruwa and assumed control of the whole island. Regarded as the last great king of Sri Lanka, Parakramabahu embarked on a lavish series of building works at his new capital and King Nissanka Malla, his nephew and successor, further embellished and expanded the city. However in about 1293, Sri Lanka was once again invaded by mercenaries from South India, and Polonnaruwa was abandoned to the jungle.

Polonnaruwa's strategic importance

In its prime, the city stretched for many kilometres along the eastern side of the majestic Parakrama Samudra reservoir, its monasteries and sumptuous palaces and temples, both Buddhist and Hindu, protected by 6km (4 miles) of strong encircling walls. Its importance as a secure outpost for armies gave it the name Kandavuru Nuvara (Camp City).

Places to visit in Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa Museum

Most of the ruins of Polonnaruwa are protected within a specially fenced-off archaeological site north of the modern town. Tickets to the site have to be bought from the excellent Polonnaruwa Museum, well worth a visit for its insightful displays on life in the ancient capital, and some fine exhibits including a number of superb Chola bronzes recovered from the site.

The Quadrangle

At the heart of the ancient city, the Dalada Maluwa (Terrace of the Tooth Relic), popularly known as the Quadrangle, was the centrepiece and sacred precinct of ancient Polonnaruwa, home to the Tooth Relic and its most important cluster of religious shrines. The Quadrangle is dominated by the flamboyant Vatadage, a superbly decorated circular shrine and perhaps the most ornate building in Sri Lanka: its outer walls are carved with friezes of lions, dwarfs and lotuses, and, at each of the four entrances, with elaborate moonstones and guardstones (depicting nagaraja – king cobra figures with seven-hooded heads). 

The Lankatilaka

The impressive walls of the Lankatilaka image house soar to a height of 16 metres (55ft), enclosing a large but headless statue of the Buddha who stands squashed inside the high, narrow space within. A section of the walls outside is adorned with finely carved reliefs of flamboyant multi-storey houses topped with domes – not a portrait of ancient Polonnaruwa as is sometimes claimed, but a fanciful representation of the celestial abodes (vimanas) of the gods. 

Gal Vihara

The pinnacle of rock-carved art in ancient Sri Lanka, the Gal Vihara is home to four magnificent Buddha statues hewn out of a granite cliff-face by unknown artists. The highlight is the majestic 14-metre (46ft) reclining Buddha – a figure of such enormous but serene beauty that it inspired centuries of Sinhalese art without ever being matched. The sculptor was working in a medium that to some extent dictated his output. Dark strata in the rock appear as a veil of ripples washing over the delicately carved facial features and figure of the Buddha as he slips into nirvana, lending a beautifully fluid texture to the mass of stone. 

Minneriya and Kaudulla national parks

The area around Polonnaruwa is one of the best in which to spot Sri Lanka’s legendary elephants, with Minneriya and Kaudulla national parks being the places to head for. Both parks are centred on extensive tanks where elephants congregate in increasingly large numbers towards the end of the dry season, particularly during the famous “Gathering” at Minneriya National Park. The two parks are linked by an important “elephant corridor”, designed to allow the animals to move from one park to the other as the fancy takes them.