Royal Palace of Parakramabahu
North Central Province
About Royal Palace of Parakramabahu
The Vejayanta Pasada was the power centre of Sri Lanka's high medieval golden age: the palace of Parakramabahu the Great (1153–1186), described by the chronicles - with their usual enthusiasm - as rising seven storeys with a thousand chambers. What survives makes the boast half-believable: brick walls three metres thick still standing several storeys tall, sockets for the great timber floors visible in ranks, and the footprint of a building that anchored a walled citadel of courtyards, galleries, and gardens. Beside it stands the king's council chamber, its stone platform wrapped in friezes of elephants, lions, and dwarfs, its entrance flanked by superb moonstones and balustrades - the throne room where an empire that irrigated an island (and invaded Burma) was administered. Start your Polonnaruwa day here: palace first, Sacred Quadrangle after, and the city unfolds in the order its citizens knew it.
Top Activities
- ✓The palace's towering brick shell
- ✓The carved council chamber
- ✓Citadel courtyards and bathing pond
- ✓Combine with the Sacred Quadrangle
- ✓Start of the classic cycling circuit
Nearby Attractions
Travel Tips
Begin the site here at opening - crowds arrive mid-morning.
The council chamber's moonstone and friezes deserve close attention.
The museum near the entrance sets up the palace's scale well.
Quick Info
Best Time
May to September; opening hour
Weather
Hot; the citadel is open ground - go early.
Estimated Daily Budget
7.9422°N, 81.0011°E
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