Often twinned with a visit to Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa is also famed for its ancient ruins, rock temples and Buddhist heritage.
As you gaze upon the 14m (46ft) reclining Buddha in Gal Viharaya and its surrounding carvings, you can’t help but imagine what went into creating these figures. The white, grey and black granite softens the details of these intricate carvings, and the scent of fresh flowers and incense, offered to the statues by devotees, floats through the temple’s air.
