Sri Lanka is home to some pretty interesting history. A nation of kings used to rule well before the Dutch, Portuguese, and the British arrived and these kings all ruled their own little slice of paradise on Sri Lanka’s beautiful island. One such king — Kashyapa I of Anuradhapura — built his fortress on top of a huge rock that soars into the air from the plains below. Not much of Sigiriya Rock Fortress remains today, but its ruins have become one of Sri Lanka’s most popular attractions because of its uniqueness, its history, and of course, that view!
Kashyapa I also built a temple on nearby Pidurangala Rock, which also dramatically rises up out of the ground just a few kilometres away and yet, despite being in full view from the fortress, is relatively untouched by visitors. On my recent trip to Sri Lanka I hiked up both Sigiriya Rock Fortress and Pidurangala Rock Temple and was amazed at the difference in experience.
I visited both Sigiriya and Pidurangala on my recent trip to Sri Lanka with Singapore Airlines and this was day 2. I’ll tell you about both experiences and let you make your own mind up about which one you want to visit (or both), as I did.
To start the morning
The road was different again today. It was thinner and there seemed to be more obstacles. Dogs loved to lay as close to (or on) the road as possible, and one nearly ran under our wheels. A pair of cows almost started banging next to the road and when the female reacted to being mounted it almost ran into the car. We almost ran over a snake enjoying the warmth of the black road in the sun and then there were the usual scooters and foot walkers on the road as well. Then we had to take a detour and spend about 15 minutes in a bumpy dirt road while a bridge is finished. A very adventurous way to start the day!
I left the Heritance Kandalama a little later than I wanted because I spent a bit much time taking photos of the beautiful facilities and expansive, natural grounds. I arrived at Sigiriya about 8:30 am and it already seemed busy. I began to regret my tardiness this morning but I soon snapped out it because Thushith — my guide — said a month or so ago it was so much worse. (I travelled in early September by the way).
Sigiriya Rock Fortress
Sigiriya itself is a huge ass rock sticking up out of the ground. In the third century the large rocky plateau was used as a monastery, but in the 5th century, King Kashyapa I of Anuradhapura built a fortress and palace on the rock. Even though only the base ruins remain, it gives you a sense of what the buildings were and using your imagination you can envisage the king waking up on the highest tier of the platform every morning, looking out his windows at 360-degree views of the lands he rules.
From the car park, we walked through the gardens, which had 2 pools that one day a long time ago had fountains. I would love to have seen it in action, but I believe the engineering was such that the fountains worked on their ancient technology and no longer runs. This same technology was actually able to pump water up the rock to fill the king’s pool.
We began our ascent up the rock face, which consisted mostly of dolomite marble steps. We passed a few minor caves with paintings and then climbed up a spiral staircase (a modern, steel addition) that led to a platform that showcased some ancient frescoes of bare-boobed ladies. The paintings were made using materials from the rainbow tree, which means they only have natural colours. No photos were allowed.
After that was the mirror wall. It is believed that previously, the mirror wall was covered in a substance including honey from bees that actually made the wall reflect somewhat like a mirror. There wasn’t much of the shininess left so this time it was hard to use my imagination to picture what it would have looked like.
At last we made it to the first major clearing, giving clear views over torward Pidurangala. Either side of the entrance to the steps up are the famous lion paws the height of me. It is believed that there was a lion head facade 20 meters high or so that connected with the paws and it certainly does look like something used to. From here it was only another 5 minutes to the top, walking up steel grated steps.
Can you imagine how incredible this would have looked 1500 years ago, lion head and all?
At the top was the king’s residence; ruins of walls abounded. The view was astounding. There were a few tiered levels at the top. We walked through what was likely the kings quarters, as it was the highest tier. There was a swimming pool the ancient pump system would have pumped water up to, otherwise these days the rain will help fill it.
I was most grateful to have my guide up there with me because he was able to explain what some of the rooms probably were, even though there were some signs, he was able to go into more detail and give much more context.
The last major room that was particularly memorable was the banquet hall, with the king’s throne still in very good condition. It wasn’t a throne in the way that we would imagine. It looked more like a bench, it was just higher than everyone else.
In total, the walk to the top, including brief stops for Thushith to explain some of the features like the paintings and caves took about 40 minutes. We spent about half an hour at the top, and then came down in probably less than 20. All up it was around 90 minutes we spent walking up and coming down. You could do it in more, you could do it in less but I felt that was about right. I didn’t feel rushed, and I didn’t feel like we were dragging the chain either.
Pros of visiting Sigiriya Rock Fortress:
- More historical significance
- Interesting historical ruins
- Incredible view
Cons of visiting Sigiriya Rock Fortress
- Extremely busy with other visitors
- Expensive – USD$30
Pidurangala Rock Temple
Next up was Pidurangala Rock. Pidurangala is only a few kilometres away and is another huge ass rock jutting out of the ground in a mostly upward direction. From a distance, it is not as distinct in shape as Sigiriya (Sigiriya looks like a box), but from the top, it certainly feels like it is.
While driving along the access road to Pidurangala not far from the Temple, Thushith slowed next to 2 girls walking towards it. He wound down the window and, while still moving, asked if they want a lift. They looked confused, a bit scared, and flatly replied with a firm “no”, hoping they wouldn’t have to use their rape whistles.
It is believed that a temple has been on the hill for 2,000 years or so, but it wasn’t until King Kashyapa I — the same king that built the fortress on Sigiriya — refurbished the temple in the 5th century for his own using that it really came into prominence.
The path starts out as regular stairs, but then these stairs turn to larger stone stairs shortly thereafter. In parts, it was definitely more of a bush track, as we were in the cover of trees for much of the way up and I felt this gave it a much more natural feel to Sigiriya.
About halfway up we rounded a corner and out of nowhere this enormous sleeping buddha statue appeared, shaded by an overhanging rock. Now after all my lessons from Thushith I knew what to look for to identify it. First step: is the Buddha lying down? Yes. Second step: are the Buddha’s eyes closed? Yes! It’s a sleeping Buddha. The Buddha was sleeping in what Thushith could work out was the ancient monks’ sleeping and living quarters.
A little further on from here and the real fun began. The rocky path quickly turned into small boulders, which quickly turned into medium boulders. You’d want to be reasonably fit to try this because even though I got up no problem, those that are not real nimble or aren’t real strong on their feet (the elderly, super fat, etc), would really struggle to get up here to the summit. I even had to hand over both of my cameras so I could get up (I had one in each hand). I pride myself on hiking with my DSLR in my hand but this required both hands.
As I was climbing the last of the boulders I caught a glimpse of Sigiriya in the middle distance. It’s just so unmistakable. The area is seriously flat all around, and then out of nowhere, this flat, boxy rock is just sitting there. From our direction, we could see the steel stairs ferrying people up and down on the side with the lion’s paw. We walked across the rock, taking photos in all directions before settling on a piece of rock that overlooks Sigiriya. After I took a few photos it was just nice to sit and enjoy the view and take in God’s beautiful creation. It was just stunning.
Pidurangala Rock Temple pros
- Much quieter
- A more shady, more natural hike to the top
- Incredible view
- Cheap – only USD$3
- Fewer people
- Shorter hike
Pdirangala Rock Temple cons
- less historically significant
- Fewer things to look at
- Shorter hike
If you asked me which one I’d prefer, it would be a tough call, but I think I’d say Pidurangala. Even though we went later in the day (11 vs 9am), the number of people on Pidurangala were far fewer, probably by a factor of 20. At the top with us was maybe 20 other people if you’re lucky. There would have been more people than that on any one section of stairs at Sigiriya (pick any set of stairs). The price is also about 10 times more at Sigiriya.
Also, I think the view is arguably better from Pidurangala than Sigiriya (because Sigiriya as a structure is just sick to look at). Lastly, I just enjoyed the walk more because it was more natural.
Wow, as I wrote that it turns out that Pidurangala was a hands-down favourite once I started thinking about it. The one thing that Sigiriya has over Pidurangala is history. Pidurangala is more a natural site with a small temple whereas the history of the Sigiriya fortress is pretty intense. With all that said, I really enjoyed both for different reasons and I think doing both is the right call if you have the time. If you can only do one, I’d probably pick Pidurangala, but both are very doable if you are least a little bit fit.
It was probably only 20 minutes up Pidurangala, despite being a similar altitude (I’ve put this as a pro and a con because it’ll depend on who you are as to how you see it). I’d probably put this down to two things: crowds, with many people in front of you everything moves much slower, including taking photos of things and climbing stairs; second, there’s more to stop and look on Sigiriya, whereas as Pidurangala you can just keep walking.
I was actually astounded that my guide, Thushith, has actually never been up Pidurangala despite being in his job as a tour guide for 6 years. He said that the groups always just choose Sigiriya as it is the more well-known attraction. I am the first person he’s actually taken up, and certainly the first person that has even considered doing both in a day. I told him I’m not most people, even though I got the idea to do both from a friend who’d been before.
It was an incredible day out and I’m so glad I opted to do both Pidurangala Rock Temple and Sigiriya Rock Fortress as they offer both very different experiences and for the reasonably fit, is completely manageable.
All flights, transport and accommodation were provided by Singapore Airlines in association with Aitken Spence Travels but the fun I describe is 100% real and genuine.
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