Polonnurawa is situated at a distance of 216 km northeast of Colombo, 140kms northeast of Kandy and 104kms southeast of Anuradhapura. The city rose to prominence when it was declared the second capital of Sri Lanka by King Vijayabahu I, after the destruction of Anuradhapura.

The city reached its height during the rule of Parakramabahu I who carried out a lot of religious reform work. He aimed to reunite the three rival order - the Theravada order of the Maha Vihara, and the orders of the Abhayagiri Vihara and Dhakkina Vihara - that had parted away during the rule of king Vatta Gamini Abhaya. He also wished to rectify the corruption that had seeped into sangha. For this, he called a council in 1165 and later with the help of Mahathera Kasyapa succeeded in bringing out much reform in the sangha. Parakramabahu I also undertook a lot of construction work in Polonnaruwa and also restored a number of monuments at Anuradhapura. in 1982, Polonnaruwa was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. For a Buddhist tourist, a visit to Polonnaruwa is a must.


Attractions

• Gal Vihare : The sculptures of Gal Vihara is the most impressive in entire Polonnaruwa. The statue of standing Buddha was the first to be carved while three more sculptures of Buddha were later added during the rule of Parakramabahu. All the four statues have been carved from one piece of granite rock. Amongst the three statues, one is the seated statue of the meditating Buddha, the second is a small statue of seated Buddha and the third is the reclining Buddha statue.
  
  The last one is the is the largest of the four statues and measures upto 46 feet. The carving depicts the final moments of Buddha's earthly life before he entered the state of enlightenment or nirvana. The statue of standing Buddha is 23 feet high and is in a rare cross armed pose. It was earlier believed to be the statue of Buddha's disciple Ananda guarding the reclining Buddha. However, later scholars conformed that the statue was that of Buddha himself and not his disciples.
  
  
• Sculpture of Great King Parakramabahu : Situated near the eastern banks of Parakrama Samudra (manmade tank covering an area of 6000 acres), the rock sculpture is of a barefoot man wearing only a sarong. the sculpture rises to a height of 3.5 m and is believed to be that of Great King Parakramabahu, however, as per the beliefs of another school of thought, the statue is that of Buddhist sage holding a a stack of manuscripts written on ola (cured palm) leaves.
  
  
• Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Bath) : Lying towards the north of Polonnaruwa Gal Vihare complex, this Lotus Bath dates back to late 12th century. The bath is believed to be a part of the Jetavana Monastery complex, which comprised some five hundred buildings during its heydays.
  
• The Vatadage : One of the oldest monuments in Polonnaruwa, the Vatadage or the hale of the relic is a circular building designed with a dagoba on concentric terraces and sculptured railings. The largest of these railings has a diameter of 18m. Neither the protective conical roof nor the dagoba that was the central core of the building exist anymore.
  
  
• Atadage (House of Eight Relics) : This is the 'house of eight relics' and stands northwest of Vatadage. It was constructed by King Vijayabahu in the 11th century and is believed to be the first temple constructed for the protection of the tooth relics. What you will see today here is some fifty-four granite columns along with an 10 feet tall image of Buddha. The upper floor and the roof do not exist anymore.
  
  
• Lankathilake (The Image House) : One of the most well known Asian Buddhist shrines of 12th century, Lankathilake was constructed by Parakramabahu I. It houses a vast standing Buddha within that was originally about 41 feet tall with it's base, however, unfortunately, now only its torso remains. The walls of Lankathilake till date rise to a height of 55 feet.
  
  
• Ran Kot Vehera (The Golden Pinnacle Dagaba) : Constructed by one of the queens of Parakramabahu, the dagaba is the largest one in Polonnaruwa witha circumference of around 550 feet and a height of 180 feet.
  
  
• Pabulu Vehera (Coral Shrine) : Also constructed by one of the queens of Parakramabahu, the Pabulu Vehera or Coral Shrine os a dagba with a number of Buddha images around.
  
  
• Potgul Vihara (The Monastery) : The monastery, lying south of the rock sculpture, was constructed by King Parakramabahu so as to listen to the birth stories of the Great Sage. The roof of the monastery has collapsed, nonetheless, the sound effects of the round room are still excellent.