G&B: Feb 2025: Southern India & Sri Lanka

Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble

India

Hebridean Sky

Sri Lanka

India

Day 5: Polonnarawu excursion

A full day trip to the Ancient City of Polonnarawu, with lunch at a beautiful hotel. Later, the ship departs from Trincomalee.

Thursday 20th February 2025

Whereas Geoff made a decision to go on the half day "Highlights of Trincomalee" tour this morning, Bruce decided instead to do the full day trip to the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa. This is Bruce's record of his day and, after his return to the ship in the late afternoon, photos of our departure from the port of Trinomalee.

My tour left the ship earlier than Geoff's because we had quite some distance to travel and needed to make the most of the day.

Today’s route took a little over two hours to cover just over 100 km, with the same journey awaiting us on the way back. The roads were in good condition and traffic was light, nothing like the bustle of Chennai, but with only a single lane in each direction and many villages to pass through, it was never a fast trip. That suited me perfectly, giving me time to take in the landscape and get a real sense of the country.

A small army of tuk-tuks was lined up near the ship, their drivers grinning and waving enthusiastically as we drove past. You could almost see the rupee signs in their eyes, certain that a ship in port meant a busy day ahead. Sadly for them, every single passenger was already booked on one of the two official excursions, leaving our hopeful drivers with nothing but exhaust fumes and disappointment.

It wasn't long before we had cleared the port area and set off into the beautiful countryside.

Before long, we were flagged down by a police road-block, along with many other motorists. It took about fifteen minutes before we were allowed to drive on and we had no idea why we had been stopped.

Snippets of life in the small settlements we passed through.

Kantale Dam.

A group of youngsters were taking a break at the side of the dam. They were heading in the direction of Trincomalee, judging by the way that their coaches were facing. I think this was part of the same group that Geoff saw later on that afternoon when they assembled close to the ship.

After driving in more or less a straight line for quite some time, the road became more winding as we crossed a railway line close to the Minneriya National Park.

Without knowing what to expect in the national park, suddenly we were seeing elephants!

A little further, we saw the Giritale Tank (reservoir)...

...with a Statue of Lord Buddha...

...and the nearby Stupa, positioned prominently along the water's edge.

A short distance further on, we got our first sight of Parakrama Samudra, a large shallow reservoir, part of which was built in 386 AD, linked by a series of channels to Polonnaruwa. We had arrived at our destination!

The sluice runs adjacent to the Archaeological Museum Complex. We visited the museum first and enjoyed seeing the exhibits.

Unesco World Heritage Convention - The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa.

The grounds of the museum are full of interesting plants and wildlife.

After leaving the museum, we began our guided tour of the site, which sprawled across a large area—so large that we had to hop back on the coach to reach some sections. Technically, we could have walked it all, but in the heat, having transport on hand felt like a very welcome luxury.

The Royal Palace of King Parakramabahu I at Polonnaruwa, ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. This was once a magnificent structure measuring 31m by 13m and is said to have had seven storeys.

Now crumbling, the three-metre-thick walls have holes which were intended to receive the floor beams for two higher floors. If, however, there were another four levels, these would probably have been made of wood. The roof in this main hall, which had 50 rooms in all, was supported by 30 columns.

A long and narrow flight of stone steps leads to the royal oblong bath - Kumara Pokuna - measuring roughly 13.5 by 10 metres. Water flows into the bath through two makara gargoyles on the western side, supplied by underground pipelines from a nearby canal. On the eastern side, a stone water lock serves as a valve and exit for used water. A lotus-shaped pedestal in the centre provides a resting place. To the south of the bath are the remains of a changing room, with a moulded plinth and steps adorned with a moonstone.

Near the royal palace stands the Polonnaruwa Council Chamber, a stone hall measuring 23 metres in length and 10 metres in width. It was built in three tiers: the lowest decorated with elephants, the middle with lions, and the upper level supporting a wooden roof covered with clay tiles.

The steps leading to the chamber are adorned with two moonstones; a unique feature in ancient Sinhalese architecture, symbolising the endless cycle of Buddhist life and reflecting Sri Lanka’s renewed Buddhist identity after the era of Chola rule. At the top of the staircase, two intricately carved lions stand guard.

The ruins remain in remarkably good condition, allowing us to walk across the main platform among the 48 surviving pillars, which made exploring the site especially interesting for me.

The elaborately carved stone pillars not only held up the roof but also framed the king’s throne, placed so that he could hear his ministers clearly thanks to the chamber’s excellent acoustics.

Moving on, we arrived at the sacred quadrangle, known as the Dalada Maluva.

We entered the quadrangle from the Eastern Gate...

and began our visit by taking a closer look at the Polonnarawu Vatadage.

We were permitted to walk up for a closer view, but had to remove our shoes first and that meant getting rather hot feet from the hot surfaces. I did go up, but didn't linger!

Leaving the guide, I decided to look around on my own.

The Statue of Bodhisattva is a representation of Mahayana Buddhist influence in Sri Lanka. Believed to be a depiction of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, the statue showcases fine craftsmanship from 11th-13th century. It is adorned with intricate details, including a finely sculpted headdress and ornaments, reflecting the artistic and religious significance of the era.

Hatadage is an ancient relic shrine, built by King Nissanka Malla and had been used to keep the Relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Built using stone, brick and wood, only parts of the brick and stone walls now remain. It appears to have been a two-storey structure, but the upper storey has now been destroyed. Three Buddha statues carved out of granite rock are located within a chamber of the shrine.

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya. A màndapa is a pillared structure that is open on all sides and protects anybody inside from the sun with a roof. By definition, as of the 20th century, mándapas, as temporary structures, are built inside a house or a building and serve as recitation platform during remembrance ceremonies for the dead. Built by King Nissanka Malla (1187–1196) and named after him, it is located near the western entrance, the area that contains the oldest and most sacred monuments in the city.

At the southern end of the Quadrangle, the Thuparama Gedige is the smallest gedige (hollow Buddhist temple with thick walls) in Polonnaruwa, but is also one of the best; It's the only one with its roof intact, supported by corbel arch-style supports. The inner chamber is delightfully cool and apparently contains four beautifully executed standing Bodhisattva statues, although we couldn't go inside to see for ourselves.

The exterior adornments were just plain weird!

The Satmahal Prasada ("seven-story tower") is a 12th-century step pyramid in the northeast corner and is believed to be a stupa because it is in a Buddhist environment. It is made of brick and a layer of plaster, with seven floors, although the seventh only barely remains.

Before going on to the next location, we were treated to a refreshing fresh coconut drink. It was perfect in the hot weather.

Rankoth Vehera - In Sinhalese, "ran" means gold, "kotha" is the name given to the pinnacle of a stupa, and "vehera" means stupa or temple. Thus, the name Rankoth Vehera can be roughly translated to English as "Gold Pinnacled Stupa".

The monkeys kept us amused as they made short work of the coconuts that had been discarded. One of the men in our group put his coconut down to take a photo and it was snatched within seconds!

A short, scenic walk led us to the last location that we would be visiting today.

The Gal Vihar (translation: rock monastery) is a rock temple of the Buddha. It features four images of the Buddha that have been carved out of a single granite rock face and is considered to be among the best examples of the rock carving and sculpting arts of the ancient Sinhalese.