Happy new year! The clock has struck past 12 as I write this post and the world is welcoming 2012 with a big bang. It's been a year of excitement and much travelling - one of which I'm writing about now. Back to day 3 in Sri Lanka.
Covering quite a few places meant an early start on day 3 but the plan was soon altered because of the weather being overcast with predictions of occasional rains. Our original plan included Sigiriya between Polonnaruwa and Dambulla which we later found would have been a stretch too far to cover in one day.
Tip: It might be a good idea to live either in Dambulla or Sigiriya if you wish to cover the three in the same day.
The distances to both locations from Kandy are pretty far. It took us a good 4 hours to get to Polonnaruwa but once there it was totally worth the travel.
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| The reclining Buddha, GalVihara, Polannaruwa |
Polannaruwa - symbolised often by the statue of the reclining Buddha (above) is also a UNESCO world heritage site and was the second capital of Sri Lanka after the destruction of Anuradhapura in 993. It comprises, besides the Brahmanic monuments built by the Cholas, the monumental ruins of the fabulous garden-city created by Parakramabahu I in the 12th century.
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| Ruins of the Royal Bath, Polannaruwa |
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| Vatadage, Polannaruwa |
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| Vatadage, Polannaruwa |
A trip to the Polonnaruwa museum will give you a fair idea of the expanse and importance of this city in the history of Sri Lanka. It also makes you aware of what the craftsmanship of the original structure of which only a fraction remains today. Spread over a huge expanse of land are ruins of the Royal castle, the Royal bath, ministers quarters and the Royal chambers. There are also a few dagoba's (pictures of which you can see below)
It would be difficult to explain the history of Polonnaruwa in one page of a blog so it's best if I let you enjoy the structures through some of my photographs.
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| Sandakada Pahana, Polannaruwa |
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| Ruins in Polannaruwa |
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| Rankot Vihara Dagoba |
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| Gal Vihara, Polannaruwa |
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| Gal Vihara, Polannaruwa |
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| Gal Vihara, Polannaruwa |
Dambulla
The city of Dambulla is situated in the Matale District in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, situated 148 km north-east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy.
Dambulla has quite a few little sites to see but the one that is not to be missed is the Dambulla Cave Temple also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla.
The rock towers are situated 160m over the surrounding plains. There are many more caves in the surrounding area but the major attractions are spread over 5 caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Lord Buddha and his life. There total of 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of Sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of gods and goddesses. The latter include two statues of Hindu gods, Vishnu and Ganesh. The murals cover an area of 2,100 square meters.
We arrived at Dambulla in the evening hours and so cut the tourists and locals that crowd the temple during the day. We caught the sunset from the top and it looked absolutely blissfull. There are nearly 350 fleet of stairs to climb before you get the the caves and there isn't really anywhere you can sit if you ae tired other than the stairs themselves.
Tip: If you are climbing the temple in the evening make sure to carry a torch with you as it might get dark by the time you decide to ascend. And although there are lights along the way they didn't seem to work the evening we were there.
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