A day removed from my jaunt to the ancient city of Sigiriya, I was still bursting with excitement in pursuing the second leg of my exploration of the famed Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka. The ancient city of Polonnaruwa is believed to be home to the second oldest of the country's many kingdoms. Today, the city boasts scattered ruins of historic palaces, temples, statues, and chambers—just to name a few—and is highly regarded as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Standing at the side of the road, I took out the map I got at the airport, hoping to use it in asking a local which bus to take going to Polonnaruwa.
A Day at the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
Catching the Local Bus
I am not sure if it was just a coincidence, but that morning all the buses seemed to have signs written in either the Tamil or Sinhala language. The hostel receptionist—a sweet girl from Latvia—had told me, "the buses will have signs in English." That morning there were none, so I felt I had to ask random passersby which one I needed to take. Three, four, and five buses filled like sardine cans wheezed by me, unsure if any of those were heading to Polonnaruwa. Finally, I approached the local standing behind me. After listening to my inquiry, he became more observant of the buses passing by as he kept assuring me to "stay put" because the bus, according to him, "will come any minute."
I was starting to wonder about my chances, despite being in a major transit city, when an old bus—almost rugged and beaten down to a fault—rolled over the hot asphalt road in front of me. The local guy eyed me and shook his head before I saw him shouting and signaling something to the conductor. I saw a nodding of the head coming from a guy inside the bus, after which the local man told me to "Hurry, hurry, that is your bus." The bus, now almost twenty meters away from me and starting to gather speed, forced me to quicken my pace, unmindful of the faces from the windows staring at me. Thankful for a quick set of legs, I managed to climb aboard while half a dozen Sri Lankans smiled at me for making it onto the bus.
The Elephant Gathering
The bus trip took almost a couple of hours. If you are fortunate, you will also witness the elephant migration happening at the vast lands of Minneriya National Park along the way. Half asleep, I started noticing the bus passengers shifting their attention toward the right side of the bus when an older man tapped me on the shoulder and pointed outside. There it was: half a dozen elephants in the vast mossy greens frolicking from afar, adjacent to a big body of water.
The great migration, called "The Gathering," happens every year and close to the month of my visit, so I was hopeful I would witness it. During this period, thousands of elephants come out of their nests in the deep forest and converge along the ancient water reservoir—built by man more than one thousand seven hundred years ago—to socialize, bathe, and look for food. Unfortunately, on that hot September day, the world's largest elephant pool party did not happen for me.
Exploring the Ancient Kingdom
I arrived at Polonnaruwa under the hottest of days; a tuk-tuk driver, as if on cue, greeted me at the foot of the bus the moment I stepped onto the hot asphalt road. I had originally planned to bike around and explore, but he had a ready map in hand, telling me the place is numerous square miles large.
I bid my cycling plans goodbye as I negotiated the fee to hire his tuk-tuk for the day. From the original two thousand Sri Lankan Rupees, we agreed on one thousand five hundred (five hundred pesos) for a four-hour ride around the city. Just like at Sigiriya, the entrance fee is thirty dollars, or around three thousand six hundred Sri Lankan Rupees (one thousand two hundred pesos), and entitles you to access all archaeological sites in the city.
Just like in Siem Reap, Polonnaruwa reminds me of the engineering and agricultural ingenuity of the civilization that flourished here many hundreds of years ago. The lakes are connected to the ancient ruins through effective irrigation systems, which are still in use today. Left and right are scattered remnants of a historic past teeming with influences from both the Buddhist and Hindu faiths.
One by one, I hopped in and out of the tuk-tuk and into the many surviving structures dating back to the reign of Parakramabahu I, where the circular temple ruins housing four symmetrical Buddha statues can be found. I later learned that the place, called the Polonnaruwa Vatadage, was the original place where the tooth relic of Buddha was kept.
Relics of Gal Pota and Lankatilaka
The stone book of Gal Pota is another impressive relic of the past, as it contains hand-carved texts narrating detailed information about Nissanka Malla, the Sri Lankan king who ruled between 1187 and 1196. The Lankatilaka Temple is probably one of the most popular in all of Polonnaruwa and also a favorite postcard subject. The temple is highlighted by its emblematic forty-foot-high statue of a now headless Buddha.
Two massive pillars made of bricks greet you at the entrance, flanked by walls filled with carvings and ancient artworks. This twelfth-century temple figures prominently in the Duran Duran music video "Save a Prayer," which was shot entirely in Colombo, Sigiriya, and Polonnaruwa in 1982. My tuk-tuk driver also took me to the Citadel and the Quadrangle, which are located farther north.
At Gal Vihara, I saw the twin statues of Buddha, starred by the reclining one. The two stupas of Rankoth Vehera and Kiri Vihara are also imposing with their sheer size, particularly Rankoth, which is the largest in Polonnaruwa and the fourth biggest in all of Sri Lanka.
It was a tiring day when my tuk-tuk driver took me to a local restaurant to grab a late lunch. It was around three in the afternoon when I finished my meal and realized the sun wasn't quite as hot anymore. Wanting to give the ancient city of Polonnaruwa another go-see, I rented a bike for a half-day rate (two hundred rupees) and just wheeled myself around until I satisfied my craving for visual delight and a relic overdose of olden times.
