Mannar is a town on Mannar Island, which is part of Mannar District. The town is situated at the bridge connecting mainland Sri Lanka with Mannar Island. The main attractions of the city of Mannar are the fishing port, a huge baobab tree and the Dutch fort. Mannar Island is inhabited by feral horses. In this respect, Mannar is comparable to the remote island of Delft in the Gulf of Mannar. Find comprehensive information about Mannar here...

The rarely visited temple of Dadagemuwa near Gampaha has a so-called Vatadage from the late Kandyan period. Untypically, this Vatadage is quadrangular building. Therefore, a more correct term to describe it would be Chetiyagara, which translates to „stupa house“, as it is a roofed shrine with a stupa in it. “Vatadage” translates to “round house”, as most Sinhalese temple buildings containing stupas are of a circular ground plan. The pillars of the Dadegamuwa Vatadage’s porch are in the Western colonial style, which was prevalent in the coastal plains. Like for many Sinhala names, there are various English transliterations of „Dadegamuwa“, for example „Dadagamuwa“.

We added a picture of the the mosque called Grand Masjid Sainthamaruthu to the blog article about Kalmunai that we published some days ago. It’s a typical street photo, taken from the car on the way to Dighavapi. This Grand Mosque is not far away from Kalmunai’s Sea Breeze Hotel. Travellers who have visited Kalmunai recently will easily see that this is an older photo, as the Grand Masjid Sainthamaruthu is nowadays painted in a more greenish tone.

The Kandarodai stupas are the remnants of a Buddhist temple and burial place right in the centre of Jaffna Peninsula. The stupas are from the ancient period. But according to legend, in the 16th century the famous Jaffna king Sangili harassed Buddhist monks, 60 Bhikkus left Jaffna to migrate to India. When they stayed in Kandarodai, they received alms-givings from locals. But the mushroom curry was poisoned and all of monks died. Afterwards burial stupas were constructed enshrining the relics of those monks.

Kalmunai, though not a district capital, is the largest town along Sri Lanka’s East Coast. Despite its long beaches, it has not yet become a major beach holiday destination. Bathing here is dangerous due to underwater currents. Kalmunai is Sri Lanka’s only town with mora than 100.000 inhabitants that is a Muslim-majority municipality. The Muslims who originally settles at the west coast of the island, were resetlled here within the territory of the Kandy kingdom, after they had been expelled by European colonial invaders.

Kalpitiya is the name of both the peninsula and ist capital (as the name „Jaffna“ refers to a peninsula and a city alike). The name is of Tamil origin. Kalpitiya is situated near Puttalam in Sri Lanka’s North Western Province. The windswept peninsula known for its serene beauty has been developed in a new tourist destination in the recent decades. But government plans to establish a luxury tourist zone near with golf course are on a halt. Kalpitiya, which continues to attract independent travellers in the first place, is actually Sri Lanka’s top location for two kinds of activities, viz. kitesurfing and dolphin watching. Due to ist long beaches and sand dunes, it’s also a good destination for relaxing family holidays. A marine sanctuary harbours bar reefs, mangroves swamps, and salt marshes. Salines can be seen on the way from Puttalam to Kalpitiya.

The  day before yesterday we posted a blog article about the most famous sites in Polonnaruwa. Those must-sees and major attactions are recommended for travellers who can spend only a few hours in Polonnaruwa. Guests who invest a full day in Polonnaruwa have a choice. They can visit the main attractions in a more relaxed way, of course. They should consider a half-day excursion to Dimbulagala for a small hike. Or they can see more temples in Polonnaruwa.

Asked, which are the less-known ancient sites in Polonnaruwa, those less crowded places you can enjoy without being disturbed by busloads, the answer is: There are two categories of off-the-beaten path destinations in Polonnaruwa. Some specific areas of great sites are not as frequented as you might guess, and some smaller sites are usually missed on group tours.

Actually, the Alahena Pirivina complex is often visited on group tours. But usually the busloads only go to the Lankatilaka temple. Behind that impressive image house, further west at the foot of the hill, is a large area of typical monastic buildings such as Kutis and small image houses. Of particular interest in this less-frequented are of the Polonnaruwa’s major monastic compound are some charming bathes and the only rectangular moonstone in South Asia.

Another historically important site, mentioned in most guidebooks, is Nissanka Malla’s palace with the magnificent lion throne hall. Although accessible without ticket and situated charmingly at the shores of the great ancient reservoir called Topa Wewa, the ruined garden-like palace is usually a very silent place, not crowded with tourists.

Inside the archaeological park, many travellers miss to take a small dead-end road to the west, which near the famous Quadrangle branches off the main south-north axis. The said de cul-de-sac will lead you to two attractions that are of much interest for lovers of Sri Lanka’s medieval architecture. Both are most remarkable examples of the specific art of that period. The blind lane leads to the so-called Shiva Devale No. 2. In fact, this is the oldest temple building within the archaeological zone of Polonnaruwa and it is very well preserved. It’s all the more worth visiting as this Hindu sanctuary is Sri Lanka’s best specimen of a temple in the Chola style. It is from the period of Chola occupation (11th century), this means slightly earlier than the Polonnaruwa period. You can study the typical roof structure of Dravidian architecture, with lots of miniature temples as acroters at each tier.

On the way to the Shiva Devale No.2 you will cross the medium-sized stupa called Pabulu Vehera. It’s worth visiting for two reasons. The shape of the dome is not hemispherical but two-storeyed. A smaller slightly flat stupa is placed atop an almost cylindrical stupa. This arrangement is not known from other periods of Sri Lankan art, nor from other Buddhist countries. Though larger ruins of this type survive in other parts of Sri Lanka (Dedigama in the west and Yuddhaganawa in the south of the island), the Pabulu Vihara is probably the best example of this uncommon type of stupa. Furthermore, it is surrounded by eight image houses. Some statues or remnants of images are still in situ.

For those who like to see even better preserved Buddhist sculptures, a small path will lead to the Manik Vehera near the northern gate, which you will cross on the way from the Quadrangle temples to the famous rock sculptures of Gal Vihara. The Manik Vehera is not far from the main south-north axis, but it can not be seen from that road and therefore is usually missed by most independent travellers. And the site is too small to attract busloads. Apart from the said statues, the stupa of this small temple compound is quite interesting, too. It‘s placed on a brick platform which is decorated with a frieze of lions. They are depicted frontally, a common feature in later Buddhist art but not common in the earlier periods of Sinhalese arts.

When leaving the archaeological park at the northwestern gate (just west of the Gal Vihara rock Buddhas and to the south of Tivanka statue house), you will return to Polonnaruwa town via a public road. There are three ruins of Hindu temples along this road. Usually busses don’t stop here. But actually, these are the largest Hindu compound of ancient Polonnaruwa. They are witnesses of the multi-ethnic character of the medieval Sinhalese capital.

Polonnaruwa is crowded with ruins of medieval structures. Nevertheless it’s quite easy to find one’s way through this archaeological site, becaue most of the attractions are aligned along a south-north axis, when entering the fenced park through the main gate. There is a historical reason for this groundplan: The monastery was to the north of the royal palace. That’s the reason why the ceremonial center for the national palladium, the Sacred Tooth relic, which was under the protection of the king but required religious supervision by the Buddhist order, is situated just halfway between palace and monastery.

For hasty tourists with only a very few hours time for their visit, the must-sees of Polonnaruwa correspond roughly to the three places just mentioned: The citadel just behind the entrance gate, to the right hand side, includes the ruins of the multi-storeyed building of the palace of Parkramabahu I, who was by far the most important ruler of the Polonnaruwa period.

The Sacred Tooth of Buddha was kept in the area now called Quadrangle in English, because it is an elevated platform with a rectangular groundplan. It’s an ensemble of several remarkable temples, the landmark circular temple called Vatadage being only one of them.

Further north is the second landmark of Polonnaruwa. It’s the group of rock-cut Buddhas called Gal Vihara. The Gal Vihara is only a few hundred meters north of Polonnaruwa’s medieval monastic centre, the Alahena Pirivena. Though the Alahana Pirivena is the most picturesque group of ruins in Polonnaruwa, the Gal Vihara group of giant Buddha statues is even more worth-seeing for those who have not enough time left to see more than three sites.

As mentioned, it’s highly recommendable to walk around the large area of the former main monastery of the medieval capital. Apart from a medium-sized stupa called Kiri Vehera, the Alahane Pirivena has two major attractions, namely the largest image house of ancient Sri Lanka. It’s called Lankatilaka. The venerated Buddha statue is still in situ, but it’s without head.

The monastic assembly hall is now known as Baddhasima Prasada, it’s the highest point of the entire ancient site. From here you have also a perfect view to Polonnaruwa’s largest surviving stupa, the Rankot Vehera, which of course is another major attraction.

Further north are two more major attractions of Polonnaruwa (see here...), namely the charming small bath known as Nelum Pokuna, which translates to lotus pond, and the large image house called Tivanka, which harbours a Buddha statue in the uncommon Tribhanga posture and has the best-preserved murals from Sri Lanka’s medieval period.

Outside the fenced area of the archaeological park are two more major attactions, viz. the palace of Nissanka Malla at the shores of the huge ancient reservoir known as Topa Wewa and, further south, the Potgul Vihara complex.

Situated in the Pothgul Vihara area is the rock-carved statue of a saint or king. It’s often called Parakramabahu statue, though it’s more likely that it depicts the sage Pulatthi, the patron of Polonnaruwa, which in the sacred Pali language was named after this sage: Pulatthinagara.      

Pidurangala is the less-known smaller sister or brother of Sigiriya. The steep monadnock of Pidurangala is located just 1.5 km north of the famous Lion Rock. Not many people know that the panoramic views from Pidurangala are even more amazing than from Sigiriya. Pidurangal, situated outside the city walls of Sigiriya, served as the Buddhist monastery of the famous Sigiriya-king Kassapa. Buddhist monks had formerly settled in the caves at the doot of the lion rock and had to be resettled when Kassapa founded his new capital here. He is said to have prayed to the sleeping Buddha of Pidurangala every day. This large statue near the top o the Pidurangala rock is another attraction rewarding the slightly strenuous climb of the stairways that starts at the modern monastery.

The main attractions within the archaeological park of Polonnaruwa are oriented along a north-south line. This citadel with the royal palace is in the south, the former tooth temple are called Quadrangle in the centre and the main monastery Alahena Parivena further north. Just north of it is the group of rock-hewn Buddhas called Gal Vihara. Ist original name was Uttara Vihara, which translates to „northern monastery“.

However, there are two famous structures even further north, viz. the Tivanka statue house and the nearby charming lotus-shaped pond Nelum Pokuna. The Tivanka at the northern end of the road within the archaeological park is one of the three large-scale monuments of this type that is typical of the Polonnaruwa period, the other two being Thuparama in the Quadrangle and Lankatilaka in the Alahena Pirivene. Tivanka is remarkable for at least three reasons. The venerated main Buddha image is depicted in the Thribanga posture, which is called Tivanka in Sri Lanka. It’s the South Asian version of the contrapposto pose. It’s very common in India, but usually Hindu deities and not Buddhas are depicted in this posture. The Tribhanga is more often used in the art of Mahayana Buddhism than for Theravada sculptures, but the Theravada school otherwise became prevalent in Sri Lanka just during the Polonnaruwa period. The second main feature of the Tivanka tatue house is the existence of paintings. Actually, the murals are the largest and best-preserved from the Polonnaruwa period. They depict scenes from the Holy scruptures and demons in particular. A third remarkable featur of the Tivanka statue house in a frieze of funny Gana dwarfs at the outer wall. Ganas are known from the art of the earlier Anuradhapura period, but the Ganas at the Tivanka statue house are more three-dimensional and vivid and serve as the classical example of this sujet in Sri Lanka.

The nearby lotus-shaped pond is the only one of this kind that survived in South Asia. It’s small in size but of charming beauty. Don’t miss to see it when visiting Polonnaruwa.

The third building is less worth visiting, although it’s extraordinary. The small scrub-covered hill you will pass when travelling to the Tivanka temple and the Nelum bath is not natural. Originally it was a stupa of a specific wide and flat type that is typical of the Polonnaruwa period. This one, known as Demala stupa, was actually the largest stupa at all ever built in the world. But to be honest, what can be seen today is not impressive any more, as mentioned.