Sri Lanka is a paradise for tourism. Additionally, you can take a tour around the ancient city of Polonnaruwa where you can find a cluster of religious and cultural destinations. Polonnaruwa was once a royal capital of Sri Lanka where a number of great kings were originated. Rankoth Vehera or the Gold Pinnacle is a dagoba which was built by King Nissankamalla (1187-1196). It is the 4th largest stupa in Sri Lanka and has a 55 m height of and circumference of 185 m. A rock inscription has been erected by King Nissankamalla to the east from the Dagoba elaborates the work carried out by the King and his supervision.
Some believe that the original stupa was not built by King Nissankamalla and built by some other king. Four ‘vahalkada’s have remained around the stupa. Not only are that remains of a shrine room found at the same place. Further ‘sanghawasa’ or places where bhikkus resided are located at the north and south sides from the stupa. Rankot vehera is a place to be traveled for history lovers or enthusiasts. Moreover, this full brick structure had a shape of the upper portion. Due to the renovations carried out, this shape has been changed.
It is said that the stupa had a circumference of 200 m originally. The stupa of the rankot vehera is located in the center of a large square terrace. There are four entrances to the terrace with four cardinal points. You can take the sandy path to the stupa to walk. The serene atmosphere which is a common condition at every temple that you can relax your mind for a while is a promise. Anyhow both local and foreign travelers are visiting the Rankot vehera daily and engage with rituals without considering their born religious background. At the same time, you can know more about the murals and frescoes in the image house from the chief incumbent in the temple. Sometimes he may be not present. If you wish to travel during the afternoon it is better if you could take a cap or an umbrella to take cover from the sun. Being a dry zone area, the city of Polonnaruwa won’t be rainy so you don’t need to beware of rainy situations.