Royal Palace Polonnaruwa – architectural marvel of yesteryear – By Arundathie Abeysinghe Source : wikipedia Considered as the ruins of the Royal Palace Polonnaruwa, this majestic palace constructed under the guidance of King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186) during his reign is an architectural marvel of yesteryear. This has been a seven-story palace comprising 1000 chambers. Located in *Polonnaruwa, the Palace was known as “Vijayotpaya” or “Vijayanta Prasada” (meaning the Palace of *God Sakra). As there had been seven stories, the building has also been called “Sathbumupaya” (in Sinhala).  The remaining huge walls are over one meter thick and rise to approximately nine meters (30 feet). A section of the stairs and the foundation walls are indications of the size of the building. According to archaeological records, the Royal Palace would have been one of the tallest occupied buildings in the world during that time and its foundation is still impressive, approximately 1,000 ...

Read More →

Danigala Circular Rock – miraculous inselberg By Arundathie Abeysinghe Popularly known as Danigala “Alien Mountain” by locals due to its extraordinary geological formation and located in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka in close proximity to Aralaganwila in *Polonnaruwa, this rock is situated in an amazing landscape. Danigala Rock is situated in the land belonging to Kandegama Raja Maha Viharaya (Buddhist Temple), a contemporary Cave Temple. Hence, permission from the Head Priest is necessary to enter this site. According to locals, Danigala Rock is a “UFO sighting hotspot” and secrets of aliens are hidden in the Rock. Hence, the Rock is also known as “Alien Mountain”. Local as well as foreign tourists are of the view that Danigala Rock is similar to a roundabout. The aerial view of the Danigala Rock indicates a unique semi-circular shape, affected by geological activities as well as climatic conditions. Hence, the location of Danigala ...

Read More →

Buduruwagala Buddha Statue – tallest rock-carved statue By Arundathie Abeysinghe   The Buddha Statue at Buduruwagala Rock Carved Temple is considered as the tallest rock-carved statue in the world after the destruction of Bamiyan Buddha Statues in Afghanistan.  Situated about nine kilometers from *Wellawaya on *Thanamalwila Road (about 25 kilometers from *Ella), Buduruwagala Rock Carved Temple is a less visited place by local as well as foreign tourists. The location can be reached from a scenic road.  According to scholars, Buduruwagala means “the rock with the statue of the Buddha” as Buduruwagala is derived from Buddha (Budu), images (ruva) and stone (gala) in Sinhala. There are seven figures of the Buddha at the Temple, carved on a rock at the center of the cliff face, centered by a huge 15.3 meter Buddha Statue in Abhaya Mudra* position and there are three smaller statues on both sides. On the tallest statue ...

Read More →