After our visit to Dambulla, our driver Steven took us on to Sigiriya to our midrange hotel creatively named Hotel Sagiriya. We were pleasantly surprised as we made our way through the gate and to the entrance. The Hotel is open and airy with a spectacular view of Sagiriya rock.
Another vantage:
Sagiriya rock, which is actually the plug of an eroded volcano, is said to have been used, yes once again, as a hide out. This time the escapee was the 5th century "ruler" King Kasyapa who is said to have fled the ancient capital of Anuradhapura after murdering his father and attempting to usurp the throne from his brother. King Kasyapa built an elaborate palace complex which included intricately planned gardens at the base of the rock.
Unfortunately for you and me both, after 5 minutes into our exploration we discovered that something was going terribly wrong with our camera (does anyone know about CCDs?).
So while you won't be able to come along visually for our entire visit, I hope that I can adequately and very briefly recap some of our experiences for you...................
We walked along the many paths, the remains of ponds and former gardens flanking us on either side. With great frustration, we were interrupted several times by touts wanting to be our tour guide or sell us some useless trinket. As far as I know these salesmen have no affiliation with the government site but are allowed in freely to greet aka harass the visitors who have just paid US$20 to enter.
Once we reached the base of the rock we climbed a bit and reached the famous Sigiriya frescoes that are said to have been painted in the 5th century.
The next leg of the climb was incredibly steep. As you can barely see in this picture, the metal stairs were built out of the rock and narrowed down to allow only one foot per step as one approached the summit.
So, we made it to the top, relaxed for a bit and enjoyed the shade and the strong winds. The view of the surrounding flatland and jungle were amazing. Overall we had a good time, but were glad to mount our descent and to return to our hotel for a dip in the pool.
Shortly after our visit, I discovered this news article concerning Sigiriya. Apparently the wasps, who make their massive nests off the rock walls, started attacking visitors to Sigiriya! About 100 visitors have been hospitalized as a result. I'll take a broken camera over a wasp attack any day!
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