Photos of a visit to the ancient city of Polonnaruwa in central Sri Lanka. Eight hundred years ago it was a thriving commercial and religious centre; today it is an archaeological park close to a huge artificial lake and national parks with a healthy population of elephants.
I toured the ancient cities region with a hired car and driver arranged by the travel desk at Galle Face Hotel in Colombo. I compiled my own itinerary, stipulating that I wanted to stay at government rest houses, most of which are now run by Ceylon Hotels Corporation, and also visited others for lunch or coffee en route.