Visiting Sigiriya (and Pidurangala) during a short Sri Lanka stopover
The hostel in Kandy turned out to be pretty nice, with hygiene standards much exceeding my expectation. The next morning, I hopped on the chicken bus and headed toward Sigiriya, arguably the single most popular and magnificent tourist attraction in Sri Lanka.
The trip to Sri Lanka was meant to be a brief stopover, and I didn’t plan to venture that deeply into the country (right in the center of the island) without any preparation in the beginning. But a quick research last night showed it’s actually quite feasible to visit Sigiriya as a day tour. Also it would be great shame to be so close without reaching it.
The journey to Sigiriya from Kandy required a transfer in Dambulla, an adjacent town of Sigiriya. The transit was very smooth there since most tourists are heading to the same place. We hopped on another chicken bus almost immediately.
Monkeys could be seen everywhere at the site. There was also a small museum “Sigiriya Museum” close to the entrance, but I didn’t remember much to be seen inside.
Couple of signs you do not see in your everyday life.
The ticket was $30 in 2017 (must have been increased multiple times since then), which was quite expensive considering price in general in this part of the world. But the ticket looked quite nice, which I actually kept as a souvenir till this day.
Quick snacks at the site surrounded by hungry animals. Not a very wise move in hindsight.
As a palace built all the way back in the 5th century, boasting imaginative and elaborate architectural design, Sigiriya (literally: Lion Rock) did worth the relatively high price and the lengthy, bumpy bus journey.
There was much climbing involved. Impressively it wasn’t as overflown by tourists as other big-name tourist sites of its kind.
Walking into the palace in awe, visitors literally entered by the lion’s claw. Monkeys could be seen up around the palace as well, not showing any sign of fear against the lion. Sigiriya boasted intricate, well-maintained frescoes, but photography of which was strictly prohibited (a vandalism incident took place several decades ago). I got flashlight may harm the paintings in the long term, but honestly didn’t get the rationale to prohibit photography without flashlight.
I remember overhearing a teacher from Portugal caught taking photos and scolded by three guards, about to be fined, who was trying very hard to talk his way out of it by emphasizing his occupation.
View from the top of Sigiriya
I met JC on the top of the palace, a fellow solotraveler from Korea. “What a shame!” said her upon hearing I only planned to be in Sri Lanka for 3 days.
The day was still young, and my 22-year old adventurous self decided to venture further. Although photos taken from the top of Sigiriya are easily of postcard level, it inevitably missed one critical component: Sigiriya itself. Fortunately there’s another rock by the name of “Pidurangala” that is right in proximity, where even more breathtaking photos, with Sigiriya included, could be taken.
I took a tuktuk to the adjacent Pidurangala rock. There was a Buddhist temple within the rock cave. Barely any tourist set foot here (I didn’t encounter any on my way up).
At that time Wikivoyage described the Pidurangala climb as “challenging”, but it wasn’t very strenuous in my opinion. There were some sections (notably right before reaching the top) that were without stairs and required some rock climbing, but nothing steep or scary I could recall, as a reasonably fit guy without any moutain/rock climbing experiences. It took me only around 20 minutes to reach the top.
One would have thought Pidurangala as just one of the many ordinary Buddhist temples. In fact I also learned afterwards that it was equally old, if not older than Sigiriya. It could be dated back to a 2nd BC Bhuddist monastery, while the main temple was built by King Kashyapa, the same monarch who built Sigiriya.
View from the top of Pidurangala. unbeatable as expected, with Sigiriya in the center.
I met a German couple at the top of Pidurangala, the only other tourist I saw here. The peak was a bit windy with a serene vibe. I sit here for a while to think about my travel, why I travel, and where I am eventually heading to.
Back to Kandy. I guess it’s safe to say that my stopover in Sri Lanka so far already exceeded expectation by far. But tomorrow I am finally going to explore Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, and more importantly, visiting a friend.
