Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa is a city in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka.

Understand
The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I in the 11th century CE and maintained its status until the 13th century. In 1982 the ancient city of Polonnaruwa was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. What's nice about Polonnaruwa is that the ruins are in one compact area so you can visit them quite easily. Just one three wheeler ride from where you're staying to the entrance and you can walk about them all day long. If you don't have a lot of time and have to make a choice, the ruins at Polonnaruwa are much better presented and more interesting than the often repetitious ruins of Anuradhapura. There are only so many stupas you can see before you have "seen them all".

Get in
Polonnaruwa is 216 km or 134 miles from Colombo and 66 km east of Dambulla. To travel there, there are several options.

By plane

 * FitsAir from Colombo-Ratmalana ,
 * Millennium Airlines from Colombo-Ratmalana,
 * Cinnamon Air from Colombo-Bandaranaike, Batticaloa, Trincomalee

By car
Car is the easiest. Any taxi service (+94 11 2556 556 or +94 11 2818 818 are two numbers of cab companies you can call) will charge you around LKR 30 per km (approx LKR 13,000 roundtrip) (as of mid 2007). Make sure you ask for a Nissan Sunny or Toyota Corolla or you might be sent a less comfortable car. The advantage is that you will sit in air conditioned luxury all the way to Polonnaruwa and the road is quite nice with plenty of greenery along the way. The old, massive trees tend to shade into the road once you leave the urban areas, creating a canopy effect. Trip is five to six hours inclusive of breaks for food and shopping (although shopping along the way is just overpriced and not recommended).

By train
Train travel is quite cheap: you'll that find the three wheeler ride to the train station costs about as much. You get on the train to Trincomalee at Colombo Fort station, connect in Gal Oya and you're in Polonnaruwa. The train leaves at 6.15 am and will take a good part of a day there is no air conditioning but the windows can open. No train runs to/from Anuradhapura.



By bus
From Colombo - Buses also leave from Colombo Fort but from a slightly different location. Take the intercity to Polonnaruwa. With luck and blessings from whatever deity you subscribe to, you should arrive in Polonnaruwa in six to eight hours.

From Anuradhapura - Direct bus from the Anuradhapura bus station in New Town runs throughout the day and the distance from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa is some 100 km and the bus trip will take three hours.

From Kandy - The 150 km bus trip takes 4,5 hours. Makes a stop in Dambulla (a bit less than 2 hours from Dambulla to Polonnaruwa).

The Polonnaruwa Bus Station is situated 4 km to the east of the main attractions, so if your hotel is around there ask to be dropped somewhere closer (Clock Tower for example).



Get around
Bicycles are the best way to get around. Most guest houses will rent out bikes. All the sights in the old town are located next to each other so you can cover all of them easily using a bicycle in one day.

See
Just north of present-day Polonnaruwa town, 140km (90 miles) north of Kandy, are the ruins of ancient Polonnaruwa, which date from the late 10th century, when the Chola kings of southern India invaded Sri Lanka and conquered Anuradhapura.
 * Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
 * Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
 * Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
 * Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
 * Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
 * Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
 * Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
 * Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
 * Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
 * Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
 * Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)

The 1-day entrance fee is 25 USD (March 2018). Unfortunately, the round trip tickets for the cultural triangle (50 USD) are no longer available. South Asian nationals receive substantial discounts of USD 15 on entrance fees, Therefore, if you have a South Asian passport, make sure to carry it with you on your visits.

Do
In this area, you can find plenty of wildlife reserves. Try to find a guide and visit places like Minneriya National Park, Kawudulla

Eat
Avoid eating from places where they sell the food in open markets. Do not go to places that need to have touts on the streets out and where you cannot see inside the restaurant from the street.

Sleep
There are plenty of budget hotels and guest houses to stay at in the new town. Prices start at Rs 1,500 to 2,000 per person for a night.

Stay safe
Don't even think of sleeping on the grass, due to the risk that you will get a bite from a venomous snake or insect.

Go next

 * Dambulla located 67 km west of Polonnaruwa
 * Batticaloa located on east cost of Sri Lanka
 * Knuckles Mountain Range