Next time when you visit at Pollonnaruwa, you can add Nagalakanda to your list. It is a nice place for sightseeing in the evening.

You can reach Nagalakanda from Pollonnaruwa archeology site. Once you pass the Minneriya town it is situated in about 200m towards the Colombo on right hand side. If you are coming from Colombo, it is in left hand side just before Minneriya town. Better to ask from villagers. But it is easy to find.

There are two ideas for the name Ngalakanda for this rock. In those days there were ample of Na trees in this area. Therefore this was named as Nagalakanada. During those days, a cobra has lived here with protecting of a gem. Then this was named as Nagalakanda.

We climbed up from the name board till we find the gate of the temple. You can drive or walk this 1km.There is a good tarred road towards this Buddhist hermitage.

Then we had a small chat with the watcher of the temple and climbed up. First we came across ruins of the ancient temple.

Ruins of Nagalakanda

It contains three image houses, two pagodas, one Uposathagaraya and a Tampiti temple. (But I couldn’t visit at all these ruins).Then researchers have found ruins of two ponds and one lake. The pond come across in “Udamaluwa” called “Namal pokuna” and other pond found in “Mada maluwa” called “Ramba Pokuna”. All these ruins belong to A.C 4, 5, 6 and 7. One view is King Mahasen has built this temple complex. Some thinks King 1V Agbo has built this. No stone inscriptions have been found here. They have found a lake which is situated in south of archeology site, called Nagalakanda Lake. (Reference-“Nagalakanda Gaweshanaya” by U.D Wijerathna and D.M. Wasanthi Disanayaka)