The Sigiriya rock fortress was probably the single most impressive site I saw in Sri Lanka and one of the most unique landscapes I have witnessed during my travels. The rock juts out two hundred metres higher than the surrounding forest, and the remains of a palace and or monastery are present outside and on top of the fortress. It is easy to sympathise with former rulers who would have perhaps viewed this rock as "godly" and miraculous, and I too found myself in awe of the magical placement of this rock emerging from the jungle.
Instead of climbing up Sigiriya and paying a colossal $35, we opted to climb its neighbouring rock Pidurangala for just 500 Sri Lankan Rupees (£2.50). If you climb Pidurangala, you actually get a view of the rock fortress, which in my opinion is far greater than the view on top of Sigiriya. Of course it would have been incredible to visit the ruins of Sigiriya, but if you are on a tight budget and want to actually see the rock fortress in all its glory, I would whole heartedly recommend you climb Pidurangala instead!
The climb takes around 20 minutes if you are relatively fit and it is mainly stairs apart from the very end where it does require a bit of arm action to hoist yourself over some rocks. The view from the top is truly incredible; it was not crowded at all and had such a chilled out atmosphere. If you are staying in the area you can hire bikes from your homestay to take you to the base of the rock or just get a rickshaw to take you! The roads were really quiet in this area as it is only a village so cycling around was lovely.
Where to Stay
I would one hundred percent recommend staying close to Sigiriya and not in Dambulla, as the village surrounding the rock is really beautiful and full of cheap homestays. Being close-by means that you can get up early and beat the crowds if visiting Sigiriya.
We stayed in a cute little guesthouse which was very rural and surrounded by mango trees and so much beautiful greenery. There are hundreds of places to choose from as pretty much every house with a spare room has set up a homestay on Booking.com. Make sure you stay somewhere that will provide you with breakfast and dinner as you won't find many restaurants in the surrounding area!
How to Get There
We arrived via a public bus from Anuradhapura to Dambulla and then got a rickshaw for around 1,000 rupees to our homestay in Sigiriya.
Thank you so much for reading, comment below if you have any comments or questions about travelling to Sigiriya & Sri Lanka!
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Much love,
Lizzie xx
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