Almost abandoned, the ruins of the short-lived, 12th-century capital of Parakramabahu I are worth a stop if you have a particular interest in Buddhist ruins or are traveling between Negombo and the Ancient Cities.
Just south of the tiny archaeological museum is a moat, a massive citadel wall and the remains of a royal palace. Further on are the image houses, brick dagobas and living quarters of three monasteries.
Follow the road as it branches left, and you'll eventually come to the pillars of a restored Temple of the Tooth (Dalada Maligawa) next to a bodhi tree, a reclining Buddha temple with colorful Kandy-style murals and, behind that, the remains of a fascinating round tower (apparently once multistoreyed) enclosed in a circular moat.
Legend has it that the tower kept Parakramabahu I’s daughter Unmada Chithra (the Beauty Who Overwhelms All with Maddening Desire) in chaste isolation after it was prophesied that if she bore a son, he would eventually kill all his uncles to claim the throne. Another story is that it was built to house the king’s wives and, intriguingly, that there was once a secret tunnel that led from the king’s palace and under the moat to the queens’ palace. However attractive these stories are, historians have not been able to conclude why the palace was built.
