Sigiriya

Waking up to my first morning in Sri Lanka, I was greeted by a hearty breakfast on the veranda. I ate while feeling the morning breeze and enjoying the fresh air which was a far cry from Colombo's. Lasantha was going to be my tuktuk driver today and our first stop was Sigiriya Rock. On the way, I had realized I had forgotten my wallet and only had dollars with me instead. I didn't want to waste any more of Lasantha's fuel so we pushed on forward with me hoping that things would turn out alright. Lasantha exchanged some of my spare dollars for some Sri Lankan rupees so I could afford the entrance tickets for Sigiriya Rock which was actually pretty expensive but I would say it was well worth it. Even just the grounds itself was amazing, there was a huge gathering of monkeys just walking around the pond and I just went full photographer mode already, taking note of how other photographers took their shots. The tour guides were out in droves and I was approached by one almost every few minutes until I made it to the road leading up to the actual rock. It was massive and a sight to behold. I helped a Spanish couple take some of their photos and I let them take mine. There were a lot of ruins and caves below the rock and I tried my best to go around and try to see every corner and angle I could take a shot from before beginning the first hike of the day.

It was a great feeling to get the body moving and it wasn't too hot or sunny so I was able to hike up with a pretty good pace, taking minimal breaks in between. The hike were mostly just stairs, some ancient and some recent. The threat of the hanging wasp nests made me a bit weary especially seeing some first aid tents stationed at one of the checkpoints. Once again, I felt extremely lucky to have this otherwise crowded tourist spot all to myself. There were a few other hikers but I rarely crossed paths with them until the famous lion statue. During the ancient times, a giant lion stood guard at the final stairway leading up to the fort built above the rock. Hence why Sigiriya Rock is also known as Lion's Rock. How an ancient kingdom was built on top of such a peculiar location remains such a mystery for me. I waited for a few tourists to pass by so I could take a photo of the claws, the only thing remaining from the lion statue before finishing the rest of the hike. Reaching the top of a hike is always a satisfying feat, all in all it took more than an hour from the bottom to the top. The remnants of an ancient kingdom was all that is left at the summit, mostly the foundation and some man-made pools. Not much walls were left standing but it was quite fun to imagine what it must have been like. They were a couple of dogs just chilling at the top and some random dude who was meditating which was a pretty good idea except his form was all wrong. It was cloudy so the I was able to explore the area without frying to a crisp. At the other end of the summit was a path leading to an octagonal pool and more caves. The surrounding area was pretty much covered in trees and lakes with a giant Buddha statue standing out the most, his hand blessing the exact direction of Sigiriya which I am sure is not a coincidence. I could also see Pidurangala Rock, I was planning on hiking this at sunset to see Sigiriya from another angle. Once I was satisfied, I started to hike down and was led to another part of the rock that contained some ancient cave paintings of the wives of the king. There were a lot and the guide showed me a special wife that had the "Mona Lisa" eyes, eyes that seemed to look at my direction, no matter where I situated myself. The way down was much peaceful, still without any people except for the occasional vendor trying to sell me some weird contraption. Lasantha was there waiting for me just as we discussed earlier so I followed him to his tuktuk so that we could go to Dambulla next.Read more