At the heart of Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle is Sigiriya. This small village is one of Sri Lanka’s most popular destinations due to its proximity to some of the country’s most famous and important cultural attractions. This was our first stop on our Sri Lanka adventure, staying two nights.
Dambulla Cave Temple complex
The Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temples was our first stop, and is located just 10km from Sigiriya. Driving past, it’s hard to miss the large golden Buddha sitting atop the Golden Temple Museum. While this looks like the entrance, it actually isn’t. The entrance is on the other side of the hill, and if you want to save yourself a walk up just to head back down the other side, then make sure your driver takes you to the correct ticket entrance!
Tickets are 2000 LKR and need to be paid in cash. Be prepared for a 10–15-minute hike up some steep stairs. Coupled with the humidity it might leave you breathing pretty hard. Being a temple you will need to cover your knees and shoulders, for both men and women.
When you get to the entrance of the caves you need to remove your shoes (there is a place to leave them – just leave a small tip when you pick them up). I would recommend keeping your socks on as the ground is very hot.
The caves are nestled under a towering 150–160 m rock and are the island’s largest and best-preserved cave temple ensemble. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back to the 1st century and have had a continuous history of worship and artistic refinement through successive kingdoms. In fact it’s been a sacred pilgrimage site for more than 22 centuries!
The temple consists of five main caves, each with distinct significance, art, and statues:
- Cave of the Divine King (Devaraja Lena) – reclining buddh
- Cave of the Great Kings (Maharaja Lena) – largest cave lavishly decorated
- Great New Monastery (Maha Alut Vihara) – 18th century addition with over 50 buddha statues
- Western Monastery (Pachima Vihara) – adorned with floral murals
- Second New Monastery (Devana Alut Vihara) – newest cave with reclining and seated buddha statues.
Collectively, the caves house around 150 Buddha statues, three Sri Lankan kings, four Hindu deities and extensive Buddhist murals. You can take photos and videos inside, but importantly you are not allowed to take any selfies as turning your back to a Buddha statue is seen as disrespectful in Buddhist culture, suggesting you’re placing yourself above or equal to the Buddha in the photo. So resist that urge for a Buddha selfie!
Pidurangala Rock - My Top Pick!
After some much-needed pool time at our hotel, we opted for a late afternoon hike up Pidurangala Rock. While not as popular as Lion Rock, Pidurangala Rock does provide a more off-the-beaten-path experience and ended up being my favorite thing we did in Sigiriya.
This massive rock outcrop has become particularly popular for sunrise and sunset hikes. The site was historically a Buddhist monastery, dating back over 2,000 years. It is believed that King Kashyapa relocated monks from Sigiriya to Pidurangala to make room for his palace, and in return, he helped develop the monastery here.
There’s a small entrance fee of LKR 1000. As you enter you have to walk past a small monastery, so shoes do need to be removed briefly, though we noticed many didn’t do this as its such a short walk through.
The majority of the hike up was not terribly difficult and had a fairly defined trail. However there were a few spots that were more precarious that others – one involved climbing across two large rocks, while holding a rope and then pulling yourself up. The other difficult spot was right near the top where there was a steep rock scramble up and you must pull yourself up to crawl through a small space in the rocks. This was not so easy and would be difficult for someone not fit or not able to climb without assistance.
Once up, the view was nothing short of spectacular looking out across the surrounding landscape and seeing Lion Rock in the distance. We enjoyed walking around the full area at the top and all of the breathtaking panoramic views of Sigiriya around us. Most people do come up here to watch the sunset, but we decided to head back and catch sunset elsewhere. It’s a very small and congested path, so we wanted to avoid the rush hour!
I was very glad we decided to to go down when we did, as I don’t think doing this in the dark, competing with the mass number of people all wanting to come down at the same time would have been much fun. Plus (spoiler alert) there’s an another amazing location to view the sunset. See below!
Soul Food - Incredible Lion Rock views
After our hike down from Pidurangla, we headed to Soul Food resturant. This place has the most incredible sunset views of Lion Rock. It’s a beautiful outdoor spot with a great vegetarian menu. While not your traditional Sri Lankan cuisine, you can’t beat this place for its perfect location! I’d recommend their tasty wraps and sweet potato fries.
Sigiriya Rock Fortress - "Lion Rock"
The most popular attraction in Sigiriya is the massive column of rock nick named “Lion Rock” or Sigiriya Rock Fortress. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the 5th century AD by King Kashyapa I, when he chose Sigiriya to be his new capital and transformed the rock into a fortified royal residence.
Given how hot it can be in Sigiriya, most people choose to hike this early morning for sunrise or late afternoon for sunset. We opted for the sunrise hike so got dropped off at the entrance at 5am. Entrance tickets are $35 and can be paid in cash or by card.
Watch out when you get dropped off as guides will come straight up to you and herd you toward the ticket office. We thought this was just part of the process; however, these guides are freelance and will try to be your guide on the entire hike and then expect a tip.
We only figured this out after entering the complex, and our guide got quite frustrated when we told him we wanted to explore on our own. So if you don’t want a guide, best be prepared and inform them earlier!
If you are doing the early morning sunrise hike, be sure you have a torch or a headlamp, as it’s very dark and not illuminated. It’s about a 10-minute walk through the lower terrace gardens before you reach the staircase. It’s a narrow metal staircase that is bolted to the rock face with about 1200 steps. If you’re very scared of heights it might not be for you, but despite being very open, it felt safe and secure the whole way up.
It takes about 20-30 minutes depending on fitness levels. Once at the top the views are beautiful and you will want to find a spot to perch and to watch the sunrise. I would allow about an hour to walk around the fortress exploring the different levels and enjoy the 360 panoramic views.
Lion's Gate
On the way down, the stairs will take you a slightly different route. You’ll first come across Lion’s Gate which we missed in the dark. A huge lion shaped gateway once stood at the entrance to the summit, but today only a giant lion’s paw carved into the rock remains.
Mirror Wall and Frescoes
You’ll then pass by The Mirror Wall, which I have to admit is not much to see. During the reign of King Kashyapa, this wall was highly polished using a mixture of lime plaster and natural pigments. It was meant to be so reflective that the King could see himself in it as he walked by. A nice story, but the wall itself is not very reflective anymore!
Next is an optional spiral staircase up to see the Frescoes, which are these beautiful wall paintings of apsaras (celestial maidens) located in a sheltered pocket of the rock. You might be tired of climbing steps by now, but I’d highly recommend making the effort for this.
Filming or taking pictures is not allowed, and they are pretty serious about it, as we saw a guard make one tourist erase some photos that they had taken.
Once on ground level, it’s possible to explore the gardens too (noted to be some of the world’s oldest landscaped gardens). However, by this stage we were very very hot and tired, and we were quite happy to skip this part.
Polonnaruwa
Polonnaruwa was the second ancient capital of Sri Lanka, and served as the royal seat from the 11th to the 13th century. The city was the centerpiece of the Sinhalese kingdom. The ruins are among the most impressive and well-preserved ancient sites in Sri Lanka.
It’s about a 1 hour drive from Sigiriya. We arrived around 12pm, which being the hottest part of the day was not ideal, but with limited time we had little choice.
TIP: Rent a bike to explore!
Polonnaruwa is a quite an expansive complex, so exploring it on foot is not advisable, however by bike was quite fun. There were a few bike rental places across from the entrance. However the entrance isn’t near the ticket office just to make it “fun” and a bit confusing. The ticket office is located a short drive up around the corner and across the street. In hindsight I would recommend renting your bike, then biking to the ticket office for tickets, and bike back to the entrance.
Entrance tickets for the ruins were $30 and could be paid by card or cash. The bike rental was about 2500LKR cash, and we had them for about 4 hours.
I would recommend bringing sunblock, a hat and a few bottles of water with you. You will also need a wrap or something to cover your legs to explore several of the locations and be prepared to take your shoes off too. There was a lot of walking around in socks, without which our feet would have melted.
Some Polonnaruwa highlights
Some of the best places to stop and explore are:
- Royal Palace (Vijayanta Prasada): Once a majestic seven-story palace built by King Parakramabahu. Today only the massive walls and foundations remain.
- Audience Hall – Once used for royal gatherings. The staircase and walls that remain feature intricate carvings of lions and elephants.
- Quadrangle (Dalada Maluwa) is a sacred complex with several different incredible structures to walk around and explore.
- Kiri Vehera – large white stupa – actually 2nd largest in the complex and remarkably well preserved with very minimal modern restoration.
- Lankathilaka Image House – located behind Vehara was a Buddhist shrine constructed to enshrine a giant standing Buddha statue, which is now headless. The shrine is flanked by 17-meter-high brick walls, some of the tallest still standing from the period. This was personally my favorite spot in the complex!!
- Gal Vihara showcases four massive rock-cut Buddha statues carved from a single granite rock and considered the artistic pinnacle of Sinhalese rock carving.
- Rankoth Vehera is the largest stupa in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, and the fourth largest in all of Sri Lanka. standing at over 50 meters high, built during King Nissanka Malla’s reign.
The site is over 300 acres, but the main archaeological zone is 4-5km long end to end. And while 4-5 km is not too far in biking terms, most of the places you visit you actually have to park your bike and then walk a bit further to explore. We were here for a total of 3.5 hours and definitely didn’t get to see it all but felt that it was sufficient to see the main sights noted above!!
Summary - Stay longer for safaris!
Sigiriya was beautiful and it would have been easy to spend several more days here to explore the village further. It’s very nearby some national parks, so a great spot to base yourself for safaris or relaxing in one of the many beautiful eco lodges that can be found here. This is something I would love to have done with more time.
For those on a tight budget I’d consider choosing Pidurangala over Lion Rock. It’s much cheaper and you’ll get better views. But ideally do both!
