I
boarded the bus early the next morning in Anaradhapura with locals
piled on top of me as the Hindu driver weaved through twisting lakeside
roads to the hot and dusty village of Polonnaruwa,
which for three centuries was the royal capital of both the Chola and
Sinhalese kingdoms. Although nearly 1000 years old, it is much younger
than Anaradhapura and the monuments are arranged in a reasonably
compact garden along a single main road. Still, the distance would
require that I rent a bike which I used the first day to explore the
town. I traveled along the edge of Topa Wewa, a large beautiful lake
with mountains framing the background and took advantage of a charming
hotel pool where they pampered me like a prince with food, drinks and
even an ayurvedic massage. Then on the way back I watched a stunning
sunset from the lakeside as local families frolicked in the cool, clear
waters.Again, I awoke early and began my morning's exploration.
The South Indian Chola dynasty made Polonnaruwa its capital after
conquering Anaradhapura in the late 10th Century, and the Sinhalese
king Vijayabahu I kept it as his capital after driving the Cholas off
the island in 1070. Under King Parakramabahu I (1153-86), Polonnaruwa
reached its zenith. The king erected huge buildings, planned beautiful
parks, and as a crowning achievement, created the 2500-hectare tank
(lake), which was so large it was named Parakrama Samudra (Sea of Parakrama).
Parakramabahu I was followed by Nissanka Malla (1187-96) who nearly
bankrupted the kingdom through his attempts to match his predecessor's
achivevements. By the early 13th Century, Polonnaruwa was beginning to
prove susceptible to Indian invasion and eventually it too was
abandoned.

My first stop of the day was the Royal Palace, a magnificent structure at one time, though little is left but the foundation now.  Nevertheless,
to imagine these ruins as they once were was astounding. The main hall
had 50 rooms in all and was supported by 30 columns. The audience hall
is notable for the wall of elephants, each of which is in a different
position, and also the finely sculpted lions at the top of the steps.
In the corner of the palace, the Bathing Pool still has two of its
crocodile-mouth spouts remaining.Only a short stroll north
brought me to a compact group of fascinating ruins called the
Quadrangle, set in a raised area bounded by a wall. It's the most
concentrated collection of buildings in the ancient cities and required
nearly an hour of exploration altogether. Some notable features of the
Quadrangle include the vatadage with its four entrances flanked by fine
guardstones leading to a central dagoba with four Buddah statues. The
Thuparama Gedige is the smallest gedige (hollow Buddhist temple with
thick walls) in Polonnaruwa, but one of its best, the only one with an
intact roof. Inside were several Buddah statues, including a 5m high
Buddah that once had sapphire eyes which reflected the early
morning light that entered through small windows at the ceiling and lit
the room blue. Along the northern wall were four Buddah statues- the
tallest at 3m made of quartz, the meditating Buddah of micah, and the
standing Buddha built of marble with precious gems as eyes. Nearby is
the Latha-Mandapaya, a pavilion that consists of a latticed stone fence
surrounding a very small dagoba encircled by stone pillars shaped like
lotus stalks, from which Nissamka Malla listened to the chanting of
'protective' religious texts. Also in the Quadrangle were two buildings
called the Atadage and Hatadage, both of which were two-storey
buildings covered with inscriptions on stone and housing several Buddah
statues. The Galpota (stone book) was very impressive. At 9m long by
1.5m wide, it is the largest stone inscription in Sri Lanka.
The colossal stone weighs 25 tons and was transported to Polonnaruwa
from Mihintale (where I had watched the sunset the previous night),
nearly 100km away!

North
of the Quadrangle lies Pabalu Vehera, believed to be built by Queen Rupavati. The moss-covered
dagoba is surrounded by 6 image houses containing Buddah statues and
the narrow staircase built in three flights is a special feature of the
structure. Nearby is the Siva Devale No. 2, the oldest structure in
Polonnaruwa, a Hindu temple built in the Chola period, made entirely of
stone with a stone-cut Sivalinga enshrined as the principal object of
worship.The main road carried me through the Northern gate of
the ancient city, once enclosed by high ramparts with chambers on each
side as guardrooms, along with small Hindu shrines. On either side of
the main street are small rooms that probably served as trade stalls
and there is evidence of an intricate drainage system on either side of
the street.

One
of the most impressive structures in Polonnaruwa is the Ranket Vihara,
a 54m dagoba that towers above the surrounding trees and took nearly
ten minutes to walk around. It is the fourth largest dagoba in Sri Lanka,
consisting of earth-fill covered by a brick mantle and plaster, built
in the same style as those at Anaradhapura. A path then leads from the
massive dagoba through the tree-covered ruins of Alahama Parivena, the
largest monastery complex in Polonnaruwa covering an area of 35
hectares. It includes the Monastic Hospital, an ancient hospital with a stone cut medicine trough which was used for treating patients by immersing them in herbal oils.Past
the many monks' residences, up the stairs to the upper terraces, and
past ponds and small stupas stands the Lankatilaka Image House. This
huge gedige has 17m high walls with a cathedral-like entranceway
flanked by massive pylons and
leads to a massive standing Buddah. The interior and exterior of this
vaulted image house were once covered in paintings and the outer walls
of the gedige, decorated with bas-reliefs, show typical Polonnaruwa
structures in their original state.The highlight of
Polonnaruwa, called Gal Vihara, lie at the end of the main road and is
captured in photographs in all areas of the country. This group of
beautiful Buddah images consists of four separate carvings, all cut
from one long slap of granite, and are well known because of their
exquisite workmanship, probably the high point
of Sinhalese rock carving. The standing Buddah image at 7m tall is said
to be the finest in the series, though I was most impressed by the
reclining image of Buddah which is 14m long with a beautiful grain of
stone making up the image's face showing Buddah in a state of nirvana.Between
7-11am, I had pedaled my rickety bike across the entire ancient city
and taken it all its sights, but it wasn't until my return that I saw
other tourists. As I headed home to shower and depart Polonnaruwa, tour
groups unloaded from buses in the searing heat and I smiled knowing
that in just a few hours I would be in the leafy jungle village of Sigirya.