Polonnaruwa overview

Sri Lanka is famous for its ancient kingdoms and Polonnaruwa is one of its oldest. Temples and former palaces dominate the local attraction listings and cultural buffs and history fans will enjoy soaking up the endless buildings and ruins located here. Polonnaruwa is noted for its somewhat unusual cleanliness and much of the surrounding environments are green and lush. A new area close to the ancient city and aptly known as ‘New Town’ is home to the majority of the hotels and shops in the area, and tourists looking for as–close-to-Western-standard-hotels as possible should aim to stay here. UNESCO World Heritage sites are seemingly endless here as ruins, buildings and religious statues and monuments are as common as sheep in New Zealand.