Name: Gal-Potha Stone Book
Address: Sri Lanka
Rating: 4.0

#14 of 42 things to do in Polonnaruwa

Historic Sites

Write a review

What people are saying

“Brought all the way..... ”

Mar 2023

Huge structure. Largest stone inscription in Sri Lanka. Incredible to realise that it was brought all the way from Mihintale! Must have been a very significant monument to construct so many centuries ago.

By Fer

“Impresionante libro”

Aug 2022

The Gal Pota (Stone Book) is a colossal stone representation of an ola book. It is nearly 9m long by 1.5m wide, and 40cm to 66cm thick. The inscription on it – the longest such stone inscription in Sri Lanka – indicates that it was a Nissanka Malla publication. Much of it extols his virtues as a king, but it also includes the footnote that the slab, weighing 25 tons, was dragged from Mihintale, an astonishing 100km away.

Suggest edits to improve what we show.

Improve this listing

Tours & experiences

Explore different ways to experience this place.

Full view

Plan your visit

Private Day Trip To Sigiriya rock And Polonnaruw Ruins
1
Historical Tours
from
$150.00
per adult (price varies by group size)

The area

Best nearby

Restaurants

46 within 3 miles

Gami Gedara Bojun Hala

1

0.4 miAsian • Sri Lankan

New Araliya Sinhala Hotel

25

0.5 mi$ • Sri Lankan • Vegan options

Lake Inn Guest House Dining Room

35

0.5 mi$$ - $$$ • Asian • Sri Lankan • Vegetarian friendly

Devi Tourist Home Dining Room

12

0.5 mi$

Kadamandiya Family Restaurant

24

0.5 mi$ • Asian • Sri Lankan • Vegetarian friendly

Sunrise And Akila Restaurant

11

0.5 mi$ • Chinese • Asian • Diner

Rasa Bojun Gedara

140

1 mi$ • Asian • Sri Lankan • Vegetarian friendly

Ambalama Kele Restaurant

56

0.8 mi$$ - $$$ • Asian • Sri Lankan • Vegetarian friendly

Hungry Muppets

3

0.6 miItalian • Chinese • Southwestern • Asian

Attractions

24 within 6 miles

103 ftHistoric Sites • Ancient Ruins

Sandakada Pahana

105

126 ftPoints of Interest & Landmarks

Polonnaruwa Vatadage

376

159 ftAncient Ruins • Monuments & Statues

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya

0.1 miAncient Ruins • Religious Sites

Ancient City of Polonnaruwa

1

0.2 miAncient Ruins

King’s Council Chamber

Contribute

Write a review Upload a photo

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0

117 reviews

Excellent

43

Very good

48

Average

26

Poor

0

Terrible

0

Fer

Colmenar Viejo, Spain2,818 contributions

Impresionante libro

Aug 2022

The Gal Pota (Stone Book) is a colossal stone representation of an ola book.
It is nearly 9m long by 1.5m wide, and 40cm to 66cm thick.
The inscription on it – the longest such stone inscription in Sri Lanka – indicates that it was a Nissanka Malla publication.
Much of it extols his virtues as a king, but it also includes the footnote that the slab, weighing 25 tons, was dragged from Mihintale, an astonishing 100km away.

Written February 27, 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Terry M

Hamilton, Canada4,921 contributions

BROUGHT NINETY KILOMETERS FROM MIHINTALE

Jan 2020

More than 8m long and over 4m wide, this 25 ton block records the deeds of Nissankamalla. Mention is made of India, Pakistan and Indonesia. Ats its metaphorical center is of course Nissankamalla, expounding his deeds to all. Its journey reminds you of the building of pyramids in Egypt and the massive stone heads on Easter Island.

Written February 6, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sudath Chandana S

Negombo, Sri Lanka96 contributions

bigest inscription in sri lanka

Mar 2013 • Friends

galpotha or stone book is one of the famous works of king nissanka malla(1187-1196ad)in which he describes himself,his rule n the eligibility for being a king of srilanka.this massive slab which is 8.2 meters long n 1.4meters in width has been brought from mihintale area by the worriers if the king.over 100 km away from where its located now.the text is written in 3 columns and contain over 4300characters in 72 lines.this is the biggest inscription found in srilanka.there r sign that liquefied metal has been pouredon to the carved characters to bring out the letters much clearer.beautiful carvings oftwo raws of gees from the border of the side of the rock.between these designat the centeris a carved seated figure of goddess luxmi holding twoflowers n two elephants pouring water on her from a container.

Written September 3, 2013

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Priyantha P

Panadura, Sri Lanka198 contributions

Biggest stone inscription in Sri lanka of 12th Century.

Feb 2015 • Family

This was rule to be adopted during King Nissankamalla era. This huge stone is not native here. Can't imagine how they bring it in.

Written March 6, 2015

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BFerdinandes

Colombo, Sri Lanka72 contributions

The largest stone inscription

Aug 2014 • Family

This is the largest stone inscription found and it describes the work of King Nissankamalla and the ties he had with the rest of the world. It is 8 m in length ,and 1.26 m in width. It is decorated with beautiful carvings of swans, elephants and a carving of Godess Lakshmi.

Written August 19, 2014

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Yohan Thilakaratne

Colombo, Sri Lanka83 contributions

Large huge stone book!

Feb 2019 • Family

A large humongous stone book weighing tons, with many engravings and writings. Its huge and is exposed to the nature unfortunately.

Written February 5, 2019

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sameera G

England, UK285 contributions

Gal-potha (Stone Book)

May 2016

This is believe to be the longest Stone book created by King Nishsankamalla (1187-1196). The stone has brought here 100km away from this place. weight about 15tons and 26ft.8in. in length, 4ft.7in. in width. Average height is 1ft.9inchs. Content is some policies and advices to general public from king.

Written June 12, 2016

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

One_of_the_BOFs

Cheltenham, UK7,018 contributions

Don't miss this part of the Polonnaruwa experience

Jan 2015 • Couples

Another essential part of a meaningful tour of Polonnaruwa. You can get some background in the museum or from your guide, but until you see its size you do not get a full appreciation of this amazing feature.

Written February 16, 2015

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sujithkumarasilva

Colombo, Sri Lanka13 contributions

A huge stone made like a book

Sep 2014 • Friends

Located in tooth relic quadrangle, made like a Ola leaf booklet, consist with three pages. We can see two Gaja Lakshmi (Gaja - Elephant) (Lakshmi - Goddess for prosperity) figures on both sides of the Stone book. It is one of the largest inscriptions in Sri Lanka, weigh about 3 tonnes. It is being mentioned that, this has been brought to Polonnaruwa by the strong men of king Nissankamalla from Mihintale Anuradhapura, (appx. about 160 kms away from Polonnaruwa)

Written November 5, 2014

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

1LifeStand

Colombo, Sri Lanka5,301 contributions

Largest Stone inscription

Nov 2012 • Friends

King Nissanka Malla describes himself and his rule over Polonnaruwa on this 26ft long stone tablet. There are signs that liquid metal has been poured on to the letters to make them more prominent.

Written November 1, 2012

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

2

…

Showing results 1-10 of 56