SEPTEMBER 2026
OVERVIEW
Please read our Sri Lanka Tour post to get the overview of what we are doing, general information, tips, tricks, and traps.
We have already done:
It is time to move on to Polonnaruwa.
POLONNARUWA (‘POLO’)
PLAN B
I had, originally, planned to go north from Kalkudah to Trincomalee … then back track to Polo from there.
After detailed analysis of train and/or bus routes and schedules, it became obvious that I needed to change my route.
GETTING THERE
Polo is about 80kms west of Kalkudah. Public busses have set routes and they are not always convenient. For instance, the Kalkudah bus to Polo went via a connection in Dambulla.
PICKME quoted 6,300r. My local, friendly, scooter rental guy in Kalkudah needed some work and offered to do it for 6,200r. I accepted.
I was picked up at my Kalkudah hotel at 11am and I was dropped off at my Polo hotel before 1pm.
ABOUT
WEATHER
That said, we had rain every day at about 3-4pm. On a good day this will clear in an hour or two. On some days this would turn into a full thunder and lightning storm by about 5pm and clear by about 7pm.
Get what you want to do done before 3pm if you want to avoid the chance of rain.
HISTORY
Polo is the second most ancient of Sri Lanka’s kingdoms. Polo dates back to the 10th century … when the Chola kings of southern India invaded Sri Lanka and conquered Anuradhapura. In 1982, the Archaeological Park became a UNESCO World Heritage site.
SCOOTER / BICYCLE RENTAL
Bicycles are a good way to get around. Most guest houses will rent out bicycles.
My hotel rented a bicycle for 500r per day and a scooter for 3,000r per day.
GAL VIHARA / THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK
The Park is open from 7am to 5pm. You buy your ticket at the Museum a few 100 metres away from the entrance. An Adult entry ticket is 10,000r for foreigners. This gives you entry to both the museum and the park.
Gal Vihala is the main attraction. Whilst you are there, you can walk across the road to see a few more sites.
The rest of the Archaeological Park has plenty more ‘goodies’. In some areas, the ruins extend for as far as the eye can see. The Sacred Quadrangle is a must-see.
The Archaeological Park can be walked in 1 day. I saw the whole site in 5 hours on a bike.
THE SURROUNDING AREA
I had a good look around the surrounding area on my rental scooter.
The roads beside the canals were nice to drive. So were the lake-side roads.
EAT & DRINK
There are many local restaurants where you can get a veg meal for as little as 650r. Double that if you want meat.
Out and about on your scooter, you can find roadside cafes that sell their ‘meal of the day’ for as little as 350r … this will be a simple meal based around rice and dahl.
There are a couple of ‘bars’ in town and you will find a Beer Shop just north of the BOC ATM.
ACCOMMODATION
WHERE TO STAY
You should have no problem finding a hotel within our GRANDPAcker price range.
I suggest the following:
I recommend that you avoid the Red Shaded Areas east and west of the northern end of the Archaeological Park. The west is very muh. The east offers park-side hotels on mostly un-sealed roads … it sounds attractive, but what they fail to mention is that you still need to buy your ticket from the museum (down in the Green Shaded Area).
I suggest that you look in the Green Shaded Area just south of the Arch Park (see enlargement, above). The hotels down the side roads west of the roundabout are fine. You can also find nice hotels along the canal-side road behind the hospital (but don’t venture too far away from the main road). This area offers easy access to the Arch Park and all of the benefits of being close to the shops and restaurants on the main road.
Needless to say, the main road is loud and busy and, east of the Green Shaded Area, the back roads and side streets are very muh.
Lastly, you can consider going 3-4kms south to the New Town Yellow Shaded Area. New Town is ‘tidy’ with good roads … but, it feels a bit ‘soul-less’.
MY ACCOMMODATION
I found the Sahan Tourist Home on Google Maps and contacted them directly using Whatsapp. It is located in the Green Shaded Area. It has very good reviews.
I booked a Deluxe Double Room with Balcony for 4 nights at 4,000r / night (fan, no A/C) including breakfast.
I was given a Double Room with a door that opened out onto a railed walkway 🙂
That said, I was happy with my room. Everything worked. Good wifi. Hot water shower.
CONCLUSION
The first thing that you notice is that Polo is cheaper than everywhere that we have been to so far. Which is interesting considering that it is located next to a UNESCO site.
You can do a safari from here … but it is not the best place to do a safari from. Most people will come here just to visit the Arch Site.
Four nights here was too much. Two would be enough and give you a whole day in the Arch Site. Three nights allows you to ‘slow down’ and, perhaps, rent a scooter and see the surrounds.
TTFN
