Polonnaruwa

After we climbed the rock we found ourselves walking back to the guest house at 9am. Feeling pretty good and wondering what we were going to do for the rest of the day we decided to catch a tuk tuk to Polonnaruwa and back instead of heading there tomorrow and staying the night. To was only 50kms down the road so the trip wasn’t going to be too strenuous. We found our tuk tuk driver and after a little bit of negotiating on Tim’s part we had a fair price and off we went. 
Polonnaruwa was the ruling city in Sri Lanka around 800 years ago. The capital was moved from the north in Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa due to continued invasion from South India. Unfortunately the greater distance didn’t stop the South Indian dynasty and Polonnaruwa was also subjected to invasion time and time again so eventually the Sri Lankan Sinhalese abandoned the city and shifted power to the west coast. 
But it was the ruling city for 3 centuries 1000 years ago and what is left of the city is pretty impressive. The most impressive for me is the Sea of Parakrama which is a man made lake or tank as the Sri Lankans call it 25-sq-km in size. The ruins run along a side of the lake and spread a good 10kms. The heat was really starting to ramp up and we felt very chuffed with our choice of transportation as our man would take us to one section and we would get out and have a look, get back in our tuk tuk and he would drive us on to the next destination. His job was definitely just driver though as he knew where to go but didn’t impart any wisdom on the place other than pointing to the map we had been given when purchasing our tickets and showing us where we were.
We started out at the southern end and worked out way back north. We entered the royal palace which is said to have been a 7 story building which back in the day would have been pretty impressive. In an area densely populated with ruins called the quadrangle we came apon some amazing old Buddhist shrines and another tooth temple where the Buddha tooth relic was held when the Kings ruled from Polonnaruwa. The stone work in and around these buildings was impressive from the way the stone blocks fitted together to the carvings on walls, floors and pillars. It reminded us a lot of the Mayan ruins we saw in South America with its pyramid shapes and stone carvings. 
Along the way we saw a massive stupor whose size and impressiveness was only bested by the heat of the gravel around it as we burnt our feet quickly viewing it from each side. We were then driven further north where the most impressive Buddha statues were carved from the rock around it. How they manage to get the figure so regal and life like is quite a feat considering its carved out of stone. From here we crossed the road and walked through another cluster of ruins which included a toilet. That interestingly was dug about 2 meters from what looked like a well. Maybe they had some way of keeping the two separate but there was no way I would drink that water! What we did see here though were a lot of bags of cement and quite a few bricks which had been replaced by new ones that looked so out of place. We did a little cringe to think what the Sri Lankans were planning. 

On to the final stop we saw probably the most extravagantly carved building which inside had a corridor of painted walls and a Buddha in the center of the room. Unfortunately the Buddha was missing his head was but he was impressive none the less. What was quite surprising was that a lot of the ruins with beautiful carvings or statues were not protected by the elements. Yes the 3 Buddha statues were as well as the last building we saw with the elaborate carvings around the outside but a lot of the others were not. Including being able to walk over some of the beautifully carved moonstones or what I would describe as carved entrance mats into a building. I don’t know if it was lack of funds or the rest are not seen as intricate enough to warrant a cover. Maybe I am just being precious but I feel it would be a real shame for these buildings to be damaged further by the elements. 

On the way home we were treated to a herd of 6 elephants eating and frolicking in a lakes edge in the nearby national park which we got to view from the road. We were very pleased but so was our tuk tuk driver because when negotiating he was that adamant that we would see wild elephants that he agreed to a fare 500 rupees less if we didn’t.

It was a jam packed day for sure but really enjoyable. We got home and stuffed ourselves on another home cooked glorious meal at the restaurant beside our guest house and then we were out for the count as soon as our heads hit the pillow. S

The man made lake known as The Sea of Parakrama. 

What is left of the supposed seven story Royal Palace.

The Royal bathing pools. Their grasp of plumbing was pretty great 1000 years ago.

The audience hall. The elephant carvings on the bottom were beautiful.

The circular relic house. It’s four entrances looked into 4 Buddhas.

A shrine to the Tooth Relic. It’s carved pillars were a standout.

The moonstone from the circular relic house. If you wanted you could walk on it! We obviously jumped over it trying not to touch it.

This building housed the Tooth Relic. It’s block work and inscriptions were a cut above the other buildings.

The Paula Vihara dagoba. This was the walk were we burnt our feet trying to walk around this guy. 

The Gal Vihara monument. The three Buddhas here were exquisite. Their carvings just beautiful.

Kirk Vihara or milk white dagoba. Apparently when the jungle was cleared around it, after 700 years of neglect the lime plaster was still in perfect condition. This is still its unrestored condition.

Lankatilaka temple. Inside, a narrow isle led to a huge standing Buddha. The outer wall design, alothough crumbling is a good representation of what most of the buildings in that time would have looked like.

Around the last two buildings was a wooded area filled with all kinds of ruins in varying stages of decay. These stupors were in amazing shape though.

The Tivanka Image House was our last stop and probably the most impressive. We think this an unrestored side because when you went around the back the brickwork had been plastered over like that of the top right in this picture. Inside was the painted walls leading to the headless Buddha.

The herd we spotted on the way home. I know we have said it countless times but these animals are phenomenal.