Today we arose at about 6.30 as we had an early start for nor visit to Polonnaruwa which is the location of the second capital of Sri Lanka. The place is situated on the shores of a huge man-made lake. The area of the old city is 110 hectares. At the entrance our guide for the tour was waiting and he took us first through the museum and then we selected our bicycles for the bicycle tour around the ruins of the old city.
We learned much about the founding of the city, the purposes of many of the buildings as well as a lots of information about Buddhism and Hinduism. I am going to include an extract from Wikipedia which explains better than I can some of the facts about the city. I can then add in some of the details we learned on the tour.
From Wikipedia
Quote
The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated Chola invaders in 1070 to reunite the country once more under a local leader.
The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage Site.
Currently the new Polonnaruwa is undergoing a major development project known as the "Awakening of Polonnaruwa" under the concept of President Maithripala Sirisena. It envisions the development of all sectors in Polonnaruwa including roads, electricity, agriculture, education, health and environment will be developed comprehensively.
The Cholas shifted the capital city to Polonnaruwa since they found it had the best fertile lands in Sri Lanka (nigaril valanadu (uncomparable fertile land)) was name for the district and named Polonnaruwa- Jananathamangalam. The Mahaweli river flowing through it can take you to the sea. Vijayabahu's victory the real "Hero of Polonnaruwa" of the history books is actually Parakramabahu I. It was his reign that is considered the Golden Age of Polonnaruwa. Trade and agriculture flourished under the patronage of the king, who was so adamant that no drop of water falling from the heavens was to be wasted and each was to be used toward the development of the land. Hence, irrigation systems that are far superior to those of the Anuradhapura Age were constructed during Parakramabahu's reign - systems which to this day supply the water necessary for paddy cultivation during the scorching dry season in the east of the country. The greatest of these systems is the Parakrama Samudra or the Sea of Parakrama. The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was completely self-sufficient during King Parakramabahu's reign.
With the exception of his immediate successor, Nissankamalla I, all other monarchs of Polonnaruwa were slightly weak-willed and rather prone to picking fights within their own court. They also went on to form more intimate matrimonial alliances with stronger South Indian kingdoms until these matrimonial links superseded the local royal lineage. This prompted an invasion by the Aryacakravarti dynasty King Kalinga Magha in 1214, who founded the Jaffna kingdom (1215-1624 CE).
Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best planned archaeological relic cities in the country, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the Kingdom's first rulers. Its beauty was also used as a backdrop to filmed scenes for the Duran Duran music video Save a Prayer in 1982. The ancient city of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
Polonnaruwa is the second largest city in North Central Province, but it is known as one of the cleanest and more beautiful cities in the country. The green environment, amazing ancient constructions and Parakrama Samudra (a huge man-made lake built in 1200).
Also interesting is the city's population of toque macaques. The monkeys have been living in the ruins since human occupation and continue to thrive here long after the humans left.
Unquote
There are several temples within the site and we visited three of them. They had both seated and standing Buddhas and also one prone representation. Our guide Ranji explained about some parts of Buddhist belief and also the story of how and when Buddha reached Enlightenment. This is related as taking place during an earthquake when the ground under which the Buddha stood remained still when all the ground around him shook. He also told us of the story of Ganesh but the story he told of a contest with his elder brother I have found unsupported anywhere.
After our visit to Polonnaruwa, we drove the short distance to a local restaurant where we sampled a buffet of local food including 32 curries. During lunch we had quite a heavy downpour of rain but it had cleared up by the time we finished.
From lunch we drove to the National Park for a game drive to see the local herd of elephants. After picking up the tickets we and our driver boarded a Jeep with an open top and proceeded into the park. Pretty soon we stopped to look at a chameleon which was on a tree close to the trail. Not long after we cam upon a small group of elephants, two adult females and two very young babies. We watched them at very close quarters for a short while before setting off in search of more, which, at first, proved elusive. We drove up to a high point and then climbed up to a look-out tower on the top of the hill. After descending, we drove a short distance and came join a larger group which consisted of an old female probably 40 years old, some younger females and three or four young ones. The safari jeeps seemed to get very close to the animals which I was not very happy with but the animals seemed to be quite unconcerned and hopefully were not disturbed by our curiosity.
After we returned from the safari, we drove to a close by spa where we received an Ayurvedic massage and treatment with oils and a session in a steam room. This was followed by some herbal tea. Did I feel like a new man afterwards, actually, No but it was an experience we haven’t had before so worthwhile for that.
We were quite late back at the hotel so went straight for a light dinner and made arrangements for our early departure in the morning, paying the bill and organizing take away breakfast boxes for an 8 a.m. departure. Then it was in the golf cart and the small ferry and back to our lake room for a good if short night’s sleep.
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| MAC on her bike ready for the tour |
From Wikipedia
Quote
The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated Chola invaders in 1070 to reunite the country once more under a local leader.
The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage Site.
Currently the new Polonnaruwa is undergoing a major development project known as the "Awakening of Polonnaruwa" under the concept of President Maithripala Sirisena. It envisions the development of all sectors in Polonnaruwa including roads, electricity, agriculture, education, health and environment will be developed comprehensively.
The Cholas shifted the capital city to Polonnaruwa since they found it had the best fertile lands in Sri Lanka (nigaril valanadu (uncomparable fertile land)) was name for the district and named Polonnaruwa- Jananathamangalam. The Mahaweli river flowing through it can take you to the sea. Vijayabahu's victory the real "Hero of Polonnaruwa" of the history books is actually Parakramabahu I. It was his reign that is considered the Golden Age of Polonnaruwa. Trade and agriculture flourished under the patronage of the king, who was so adamant that no drop of water falling from the heavens was to be wasted and each was to be used toward the development of the land. Hence, irrigation systems that are far superior to those of the Anuradhapura Age were constructed during Parakramabahu's reign - systems which to this day supply the water necessary for paddy cultivation during the scorching dry season in the east of the country. The greatest of these systems is the Parakrama Samudra or the Sea of Parakrama. The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was completely self-sufficient during King Parakramabahu's reign.
With the exception of his immediate successor, Nissankamalla I, all other monarchs of Polonnaruwa were slightly weak-willed and rather prone to picking fights within their own court. They also went on to form more intimate matrimonial alliances with stronger South Indian kingdoms until these matrimonial links superseded the local royal lineage. This prompted an invasion by the Aryacakravarti dynasty King Kalinga Magha in 1214, who founded the Jaffna kingdom (1215-1624 CE).
Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best planned archaeological relic cities in the country, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the Kingdom's first rulers. Its beauty was also used as a backdrop to filmed scenes for the Duran Duran music video Save a Prayer in 1982. The ancient city of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
Polonnaruwa is the second largest city in North Central Province, but it is known as one of the cleanest and more beautiful cities in the country. The green environment, amazing ancient constructions and Parakrama Samudra (a huge man-made lake built in 1200).
Also interesting is the city's population of toque macaques. The monkeys have been living in the ruins since human occupation and continue to thrive here long after the humans left.
Unquote
There are several temples within the site and we visited three of them. They had both seated and standing Buddhas and also one prone representation. Our guide Ranji explained about some parts of Buddhist belief and also the story of how and when Buddha reached Enlightenment. This is related as taking place during an earthquake when the ground under which the Buddha stood remained still when all the ground around him shook. He also told us of the story of Ganesh but the story he told of a contest with his elder brother I have found unsupported anywhere.
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| A macaque |
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| Some scenes from our tor of Polonnaruwa |
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| MAC with our excellent guide |
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| Mendis our tour guide for the whole trip is on the left. |
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| Our lunch eaten with our hands!! |
After we returned from the safari, we drove to a close by spa where we received an Ayurvedic massage and treatment with oils and a session in a steam room. This was followed by some herbal tea. Did I feel like a new man afterwards, actually, No but it was an experience we haven’t had before so worthwhile for that.
We were quite late back at the hotel so went straight for a light dinner and made arrangements for our early departure in the morning, paying the bill and organizing take away breakfast boxes for an 8 a.m. departure. Then it was in the golf cart and the small ferry and back to our lake room for a good if short night’s sleep.
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