Polonnaruwa, located in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province, served as the island’s capital nearly a thousand years ago. Today, it offers one of the most extensive and well-preserved archaeological sites in South Asia. Visitors can walk among the ruins of royal palaces, Buddhist monasteries, and intricately carved stone temples. The city was developed in the 11th and 12th centuries under King Parakramabahu I, whose ambitious vision included not just grand architecture but also an advanced irrigation system, parts of which are still in use today.

One of the highlights of Polonnaruwa is the Gal Vihara, a group of colossal Buddha statues carved directly into granite. These statues, seen seated, standing, and reclining, are admired not only for their scale but for the detailed craftsmanship that has survived centuries of weathering. Nearby, the Vatadage, a circular relic house once used to enshrine the Buddha’s tooth relic, showcases stonework with lotus motifs and stone guard figures at the entrance. Many visitors rent bicycles to explore the ruins, as the ancient city covers a large area and is laid out in a grid-like pattern that’s easy to navigate.

Beyond the stone monuments, Polonnaruwa still functions as a living town with its own rhythms. Locals gather in the early morning at roadside tea stalls before heading to the market, and pilgrims dressed in white walk barefoot to the modern-day temples that coexist with ancient ruins. In the afternoons, wild macaques from nearby forest patches can often be seen darting among the ruins, Polonnaruwa is home to a large population of toque macaques, featured in the Disney documentary Monkey Kingdom, which was filmed here.