Polonnaruwa ancient city by bicycle realistic distances and route
Coming from a cycling background I want to skip the tuktuk tour of Polonnaruwa and just rent a bicycle to explore the ruins Total distance to cover all the major sites Quadrangle Gal Vihara Lankatilaka Rankoth Vehera Lotus Pond Is the road condition cyclist friendly and best time to start to avoid both heat and crowds
4 Answers from travellers
Polonnaruwa ancient city is perfectly bicycle scaled Total loop is around 12 km flat shaded paved Standard route from new town entrance go counter clockwise Royal Palace and Quadrangle first (most concentrated cluster) then Rankoth Vehera Lankatilaka Tivanka Image House and finish at Gal Vihara (the four magnificent Buddha sculptures the photograph everyone wants) Lotus Pond is just past Gal Vihara Road condition excellent paved within the ruins area Some sandy patches near Tivanka mountain bike or hybrid is better than thin tyre roadbike Best start 0600 cool light low crowds Entry 5400 LKR for foreigners Bicycle rental 800 to 1000 LKR per day My shop is across from the ticket office
For one extra day from Polonnaruwa Minneriya National Park is 30 minutes drive elephant gathering builds in July incredible to combine
Pack a water bottle and refill at the ticket office no shops inside The toque macaques near Gal Vihara are bold do not eat anywhere visible
Audio guide app at Polonnaruwa really enhances the experience download Vimaan Audio Guide before arriving signal is spotty in the ruins
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