Itinerary

1. Polonnaruwa Tour

   • Meet your driver at your hotel in Colombo and travel to the medieval kingdom of Polonnaruwa.

   • Start from the Archaeological Museum, which offers great insight into the art and history of the former medieval capital city, featuring an extraordinary collection of bronze statues and scale replica models of the sites depicting buildings for what they would’ve looked like in the past. 

   • Proceed to the Royal Palace and Citadel of King Parakramabahu I. Initially, it was a structure of seven stories. The Audience Hall or Council Chamber is a large pavilion-like hall with intricate carvings. You will find the Royal Bathing Pool at the corner of the palace grounds.

   • Followed by a visit to the Quadrangle, which was the focal point of the old city; it is a complex comprising all ruins of an ancient building, starting from the Shiva Devale and then on to the Thuparamaya, a well-preserved image house, the Nissanka Latha Mandapaya (Floral Altar), the Hatadage (House of seven relics), and the famous Polonnaruwa Vatadage which is a creation of that has been revered with prominence in Sri Lankan history. 

   • Go on to see the Gal Potha (Stone Book), an enormous book carved out of rock, and the Satmahal Prasadaya, a building influenced by oriental architecture that was very unusual and complicated. It was like a stepped pyramid with six stories erected one above the other.

   • Head towards the north to see the magnificent Gal Vihara, a collection of world-renowned statues. Four figures of the Buddha are carved out of a cliff of granite, considered the best rock sculpture on the island.

   • Visit the Nelum Pokuna, also known as the Lotus Pond, a beautifully carved granite pond constructed into the shape of a Lotus flower, and the Thivanka Image House, one of the largest monasteries around Polonnaruwa.

   • End the tour, and you will be dropped back at your hotel in Colombo.