Parakramabahu's royal palace in Polonnaruwa

Parakramabahu's royal palace, sometimes called Vejayanta Prasada, stands within the citadel walls of Polonnaruwa. The chronicles describe it as seven storeys high with a thousand rooms. Whether or not those figures are exact, the surviving brick walls are about 3 metres thick and still rise several storeys.

Rows of holes in the walls held the beams of upper wooden floors, and plaster survives in places. The palace is thought to have burned, perhaps during invasions in the 13th century, which left the brick shell standing.

Walking inside the walls gives a sense of scale that photographs miss. The main hall was large, and the thickness of the walls supported heavy upper storeys.

The citadel that held the palace was protected by walls and gates, and inside it stood residences, halls and service buildings. Only the brick foundations of many survive. Walking from the palace to the council chamber and bath gives a good sense of how the royal quarter of Polonnaruwa was laid out, separate from the monasteries further north.

The council chamber, or audience hall, near the palace is one of the most beautifully decorated buildings in Polonnaruwa. Its raised platform is carved with three bands of friezes: elephants at the bottom, then lions, then dwarfs, each animal subtly different.

Two stone lions guard the steps, and the stone pillars that held the roof still stand. Inscriptions on the pillars are said to mark where ministers sat. It is one of the best places in Polonnaruwa to see fine carving at close range.

The council chamber's friezes reward close attention. Each elephant in the lowest band has a slightly different pose, and the dwarfs in the top band are playful, some dancing or playing instruments. These details show the skill of Polonnaruwa's stone carvers and are easy to miss if you rush to the Sacred Quadrangle.

Kumara Pokuna, the royal bath, lies a short walk from the palace. It is a stepped, stone-lined pool fed by water channels, with spouts carved as crocodile mouths. A small pavilion once stood beside it.

Kumara Pokuna is smaller than Anuradhapura's Kuttam Pokuna, but its stonework and spouts are fine. It shows the comforts of royal life in medieval Polonnaruwa and the same water engineering that built the great tanks.

The royal palace, council chamber and bath are covered by the Polonnaruwa ticket, roughly US$25 to US$30 for foreign adults, bought at the museum ticket office. They lie close together near the start of the site, so they are usually the first stop after the museum. Allow about 45 minutes.

Shoes can stay on at the palace and council chamber, which are secular buildings. Visit early, around 7.30 or 8am, when the light on the brick is warm. Lankan Stays & Trails guides often tell the story of Parakramabahu here, before moving on to the Sacred Quadrangle.

Monkeys, both toque macaques and grey langurs, are common around the palace walls. Keep food out of sight.

Parakramabahu I is remembered as the greatest king of Polonnaruwa. He unified the island, reformed the monastic order, and built palaces, monasteries and, above all, irrigation works, including Parakrama Samudra. He is credited with the saying that no drop of rain should reach the sea without first being used.

His reign was also marked by costly foreign campaigns, and some historians argue that his building and wars strained the kingdom. Within a few decades of his death, Polonnaruwa began to decline.

Parakramabahu's story is told in the Culavamsa, the later part of Sri Lanka's chronicles, which describe his campaigns, building and religious reforms at length. The chronicles praise him generously, but archaeology confirms much of his building work, including the palace, the reservoir and several monasteries visited on a first trip to Polonnaruwa.