The Three Ancient Cities of Sri Lanka

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Day 3 - Thursday 7 September



Today’s weather in Colombo was heavy rain, influenced by cyclonic patterns from across India. Perera picked us up at 8.30am to drive to and explore Dambadeniya Ancient Region.







It took us 1 ½ hours of driving through rural areas with teak, coconut, paper and rice crops. We drove through many villages which were typical Asian, semi-developed housing and small retail outlets. Many had bananas hanging up for sale, as were pineapples, orange coconuts and other citrus fruits. It took us 3 banks before being successful with our Visa card withdrawal. We hadn’t had any problems until then.



We found the ancient city easily, after Perera asked several locals. Dambadeniya is a ruined ancient city situated in the North-Western Province (Wayamba), on the Kurunegala - Negombo road. It served as the capital of Sri Lanka in the mid-13th century. Much of Dambadeniya still lies buried on a huge fortified rock. Dambadeniya is situated about 31 km Kurunegala, the modern day capital of the North Western Province.



It is believed that the Dambadeniya period was the 'Golden Era' of Sinhalese Literature.



Dambadeniya, about 30 km south-west of Kurunegala, became prominent in the mid-13th century. It was selected as the capital of the kingdom of Sri Lanka by King Vijayabahu III (1232–36). The sovereignty of the country was at stake as a result of invasions, which dislodged Polonnaruwa as the capital. Vijayabahu, the king of the Dambadeniya dynasty, fought the invaders and established Dambadeniya.



On the summit of the Dambadeniya rock he built fortifications and sturdy walls and gates. The city was made secure by a moat, a marsh and ramparts around the royal palace. During the reign of King Parakramabahu II (1236–70), Dambadeniya reached the zenith of its glory. King Parakramabahu II's immaculate Poetic masterpieces "Kavisilumina" and "Visuddi Marga Sannasa" gave a turning point to Sinhalese literature. Dambadeniya era was the reason why Sinhalese literature is not limited to paintings nor scripts.



Among the ruins of the remaining palace grounds, the foundations are still visible. Excavations have uncovered remains of the temple of the Relic of the tooth of the Buddha, the Royal Palace, gardens, moats, and city walls. The double-story temple of the Tooth Relic has Buddha images, identified as the Vijayasundararamaya. It also has some interesting wall paintings dating from the 18th century.



The significant religious statue was a large lying Buddha which was very colourful.



We came across a group of local visitors to the sit. The children were fascinated with us so Tom took my photo with 2 of the children who enjoyed looking at their photos on the camera.



We then drove to the Yapahuwa Ancient City. Yapahuwa is 147km from Colombo and is located a little way off the Kurunegala-Anuradhapura road, in the Wayamba province of Sri Lanka. Of all the ancient ruins in the country the Rock Fortress Complex of Yapahuwa is considered to be quite remarkable despite the fact that it isn't famous among most visitors.



However, it is renowned as one of the best archeological site in the country. It is even rumored to be more significant than The Rock Fortress in Sigiriya.



In the early 13th century Yapahuwa was the capital of the country and it housed the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha for 11 Years. King Bhuvanekabhu I, the son of the King Parakramabahu who at that time ruled Dambadeniya, was stationed at Yapahuwa in order to protect the Country from Invaders; built the palace and the temple. After the Fortress was abandoned monks converted it into a monastery and monks still reside among the ancient ruins. Even today signs of early defense mechanisms can still be seen among the ruins.







On top of the rock the remains of a stupa, a Bodhi tree, and a rock shelter/cave used by Buddhist monks is visible. A couple of caves are seen at the base of the rock, one of which is a Buddhist Shrine whereas another cave has some inscriptions on it. The rock fortress or Cave Temple has a strong resemblance to the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. The statues and the alfresco on the walls inside were in excellent condition.







We stopped off at a little food stall and a man prepared an orange/lime drink with sugar and salt added. It was very refreshing. Tom had a coolish soda and some crackers.



We then drove to Negombo en route visiting Paduwasnuwara. This is another ancient capital, situated in Kurunegala District. It is said to be the controlling centre known as Parakramapura of Dakkhinadesa (South Country) in the 12th century, when it was ruled by Parakramabahu. The remaining ruins of the ancient kingdom still can be seen at Kotampitiya area which lies along Wariyapola-Chilaw main road about 19 km away from Wariyapola town.



The current site has been identified as Parakramapura, the city of Dakkhinadesa, founded by king Parakramabahu the great when he was the sub king of the territory, and called as Panduwasnuwara presently.



Due to its name this site is erroneously identified by the locals as the ancient capital of king Panduwasadeva who ruled the country in 504 BC to 474 BC. They believe that the structure known as Chakrawalaya which is situated in the site as the ektemge (a circular tower) where princess Unmada Chitra was confined by her brothers.



According to another belief the name Panduwasnuwara had been formed due to an ancient tank called Panda Wewa which is situated in nearby area.



As the Successor of his uncle king Kirti Sri Megha, prince Parakramabahu became the ruler of Dakkhinadesa in 1140 A.D. It was the first capital of Parakramabahu and one of the three discrete kingdoms into which the Island was divided.



The ruins scattered over about 20 hectares in Panduwasnuwara were established during the 12th century A.D. Among the ruins a palace, monasteries, image houses, dagobas and monks' living quarters, carved pillars, guard stones, and other ancient constructions can be seen. The remains of the palace is bounded with moat and a brick rampart and the ground plan of the palace is similar to the palace of king Parakramabahu of Polonnaruwa. According to Stone seat inscription, a slab inscription established in the palace premises records that king Kirti Sri Nissankamalla (1187-1196 A.D.) visited this palace once on the way of his one of tours.



From the south and north areas of the palace are remains of several monasteries which are built in Panchayathana architectural style. Stupa, image houses, Bodhighara and dwelling houses are seen in each monastery. Beside the Sinhalese inscriptions there is a Tamil inscription belonging to the reign of Nissankamalla, in one monastery premises.



We had a very satisfying day but it was now time to say goodbye to Perera who dropped us off in Negombo at the Paradise Beach Hotel. It had been a big day so once booked in, we walked down the main street and eventually found a beach side restaurant bar and enjoyed a cold Lion beer before dinner. We then walked back to the hotel where we met our guide Fernando, who was going to drive us around for the next 14 days.







We also me our travel companions, Sue and Dave, farmers just outside of Oaky in Queensland. Fernando took us to a wonderful restaurant where I had chilli crabs and Tom had buttered-chilli chicken. We had a fantastic evening, chatting about each other’s past travels. Sue & Dave had visited many countries which we have so it was great swapping stories.

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Photos

Damdabeniya
The little children were fascinated with us