Polonnaruwa is a city in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka.
The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was
first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I in the 11th
century AD and maintained its status until the 13th century. In 1982
the ancient city of Polonnaruwa was inscribed on the UNESCO World
Heritage List.
Polonnaruwa is 216 km or 134 miles from Colombo.
To travel there, you've got several options. They are, in order of
preference, car, train and bus.
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 crappy Indian car. 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, fruit and shopping (although shopping along the way is just
overpriced and not recommended).
Train is next, though frankly, bus is kind of tied with it. It's
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 (http://www.srilankatourism.org/lang/en/traveller/trainschedule.php),
connect in Gal Oya and you're in Polonnaruwa. The trip'll take you a
good part of a day and the train leaves the station at 6.15am so
plan accordingly. It is not however an air conditioned experience
but it is a train with all the scenery and Theroux-like (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Railway_Bazaar)
hijinks that implies.
Bus is always my third option. 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 (god help us atheists!) you should arrive in
Polonnaruwa in six to eight hours.
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.
* The Royal Palace
* King Nissanka Malla's Palace
* King Parakramabahu I Statue
* Siva Devale
* Alahana Pirivena Complex - Buddhist temples
* Lankatilaka Gedige (Temple)
* Gal Vihara (Temple)
* Topa Wewa Lake and the Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama)
* Demala Maha Seya (Temple)
Hotels Accommodation
*** The Village Polonnaruwa, 027 459 9299. Don't do it. I checked in
one night 'cause I was too tired to drive anymore.
*** Hotel Seruwa, 027 2222 2411. Also run by CHC but cheaper and the
location is pretty nice as well.
*** Polonnaruwa Resthouse, 027 222 2299. - Run by the Ceylon
Hotels Corporation. It's a really nice location right on the
Parakrama Samudra. Queen Elizabeth II (who was Queen of Sri Lanka
from 1952 to 1972) stayed here. |
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