Sigiriya - The Lion's Rock
My family and I landed at Bandaranaike International Airport at 9 pm, and drove straight to Sigiriya, to check into Kassapa Lions Rock, our resting place for three nights. The drive from the airport to Sigiriya took about 3 hours. It was as smooth as butter and what stood out in the thoroughfare were towering statues of Buddha all along. Towards Sigiriya, the drive was along thick woods and even with the car windows jammed tight , I could smell the jungle. The long grass on the side of the speeding car bent to one side from its free end like an acrobat. There was a baby elephant tearing apart the grass with its trunk as a child tears a piece of paper. What a euphoric sight that was!
Lion's Rock
One can visit a place for its historical monuments, palaces, natural beauty, downtown, shopping, food and sometimes also for a ROCK! When it is an extraordinary one aka The Lion's Rock. It features in most itineraries( if not all) without any consideration for number of days in hand. In my hotel, a large group of school children aged 10-12 arrived from China. They were about 50 in number accompanied by 3 teachers. The Lion's Rock was on top of their 3 days itinerary and a supreme reason to travel to Sri Lanka. We also gave it the importance it deserved by driving straight from the airport in the night so that we could have an early start at the site.
Museum
A small but informative museum is attached to the site, it has pictures of all the essential aspects and gives a brief description too. It tells you clearly as to what you need to look for and saves you from the paid service of a guide.
Things to see in Sigiriya
- A natural rock- plateau which is 200 meters above the ground and more than 2 km long.
- A perfect place for a Buddhist Monastary and so it was.
- Then came King Kassapa, in the 5th century AD and gallantly resolved to make a palace on the top.
- He used scientific methods to build gardens, water bodies and fountains around the palace.
- One side of the rock is an art gallery with Fresco Paintings.
- According to a folklore, King Kassapa was a playboy, having 400 wives from countries as far as Vietnam and Egypt (Oh, how they must have argued for their turn)
- A mirror wall where the king's many wives would ask "Mirror-Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest among all.
- About hallway up to the side of the rock on a small plateau he constructed the gateway in the form of an enormous lion, and yes, that's where the name comes from.
- At the top, are the ruins of the palace, and enriching views of the surrounding low-lying forest.
- Today the rock is a home to thousands of hornets (You must "bee" careful...Hey, I tried okay?!) and their humming sounds like a song of past glory.
You do not need a guide to show you the above, you just need your eyes..If you desire entertainment you may hire one, they are great at cooking stories.
The gardens
Sigiriya Gardens are amongst the oldest surviving gardens in Asia. At the foot of the rock are the terrace gardens and the two great stairways leading to the mirror wall. Below the terrace gardens and merging with them are the boulder gardens. Stretching out into the distance are three distinct units of the water gardens. In the far distance you can see a section of the inner rampart and to the extreme left a part of inner moat.
The fact of the matter is that while you are walking through it, you may not be very flamboyant with your appreciation. It's hot and you can't wait to get to the top.
The fact of the matter is that while you are walking through it, you may not be very flamboyant with your appreciation. It's hot and you can't wait to get to the top.
Mirror Wall
It is so called because its surface have been highly polished like a mirror. This wall is of architectural and literary importance because of its graffiti. Visitors to Sigiriya from 7th to the19th centuries AD have left their comments there.
The wall was barricaded during our visit and the crowd around it did not allow me to percieve it the way I would have liked to.
The wall was barricaded during our visit and the crowd around it did not allow me to percieve it the way I would have liked to.
Fresco Paintings
Very few of these masterpieces remain today at the site. A guard sits there, guarding them from touch, photography and any other abuse. The paintings are essentially of women with bulk and what is most outstanding is that the featured ladies are varied culturally, one looks like an African while the other has east/south east Asian features. While some belief that these paintings have been inspired from women priests of that time, there is another point of view rather radical, that believes that these women were few out of 400 wives of King Kassappa. Photography is not allowed here.
The Palace Entrance
By the time you reach here, you are tired; while you are eager to take pictures of the giant paws of the lion, you may as well rest and hope that the crowd thins itself out, so that you can get a clean shot of the remnants of an archeologic wonder. The chances of this are grim, so when you feel that your breath does not sound like a huffing locomotive you can go closer to the paws and start your upward climb through a steep narrow stairway at the arc of the rock, seeming to take you up, really high (weed and marijuana are NOT involved; this is a different kind of 'high")
The Palace
Here you see the remnants of the valiant undertaking of King Kassappa. You do get a feel, that this top- of- the- rock palace must have been a 'top of the world' wonder. But, can you imagine the beauty of a buttercup flower if you just see one of its petals?
Essential Details
Distance from Colombo- 180 km
Telephone +94112500732
Timing- 7.00am- 5.30pm
Entrance Fees-Foreigner from SAARC country- 15$ ( You have to produce your passport to get SAARC special price) Other Foreigners- 30$
Guide- Available
Cafeteria- NO
Clothing- No restriction
Toilets- Available
Telephone +94112500732
Timing- 7.00am- 5.30pm
Entrance Fees-Foreigner from SAARC country- 15$ ( You have to produce your passport to get SAARC special price) Other Foreigners- 30$
Guide- Available
Cafeteria- NO
Clothing- No restriction
Toilets- Available
Pidurangala Cave & Rock Temple
At 11.00 am, we sat down in the car to drive towards Pidurangala. The breakfast should have lasted us for some more time but as soon as we sat in the car, we were rummaging our bags to find some food. A packet of Doritos was tore open and crunching sounds filled the air. The drive took less than 10 minutes (just not enough for the legs to recover, but the stomach was silent )
At the entrance was a high ticket counter, before issuing the ticket the man peeped out to make sure that our arms and knees were covered. I carried a large piece of cloth that could be used both as a lungi/ Thai Skirt and a scarf, I tied it around my waist to cover my legs.
At the entrance was a high ticket counter, before issuing the ticket the man peeped out to make sure that our arms and knees were covered. I carried a large piece of cloth that could be used both as a lungi/ Thai Skirt and a scarf, I tied it around my waist to cover my legs.
As we walked past the ticket counter, the climb started, it was a rocky escalation. A guide walked ahead of us with a couple of European women. A few steps away from the ticket counter, I heard him saying to them,' You can take off your cloth wrap as we have a long climb.' And so they did and quickly the trio vanished and I never saw them again. Well, for us I also took off the fabric and freed my legs.
Just a little ahead was a temple, with statues of Buddha in various postures, I tied the fabric again to seek the blessings and then carried on without it. It was getting hotter, the sun's rays hit our skin like whips and the path became more and more treacherous, my stamina shook me like a dried fallen leaf and I found it difficult to focus. We found no point in stopping to rest as it would get hotter and delay the lunch.
As we walked at the edge of the mountain, there were thick woods along the slope but I was quite dazed due to the heat and tiredness which left little space in me for enjoyment and appreciation. Finally we reached a cave, where a rock statue of sleeping Buddha rested. 'Oh! that's not the end' I cried as my husband led us ahead, some bare footed locals had caught up with us and I couldn't help but admire with the ease at which they climbed. My airy, cotton, scanty clothes and Asics shoes gave me no advantage. In 15 minutes I huffed my way to the top, The Lion's Rock was visible in its totality and what had seemed so gigantic an hour ago looked like a capsule now.
Essential Details
1.5 km to the North of The Lion Rock of Sigriya.
Telephone- 0770331068, 0773471699
Ticket cost- 500 LKR
Guide- Available
Dress Code- Yes (Arms and knees covered)
1.5 km to the North of The Lion Rock of Sigriya.
Telephone- 0770331068, 0773471699
Ticket cost- 500 LKR
Guide- Available
Dress Code- Yes (Arms and knees covered)
Polonnaruwa
After a well rested evening and night, we were all charged up to visit the historic site of Polonnaruwa. It found a place in our itinerary after eliminating Anuradhapura (the oldest kingdom). Vijaybahu I established this second most ancient kingdom of the region in 11th century AD. The kingdom's prosperity reached greater heights during the reign of Parakramabahu.
The ticket counter is in a building which has a museum, souvenir shop and guides waiting to render their services. If you plan to employ one, do it before you visit the museum. We also hired one, his name was Tissa. He was tall, grey haired, wore glasses which magnified his weary eyes. He spoke in English, rather softly but passionately.
The museum houses a miniature of the Polonnaruwa kingdom, models have been placed along with the information to help the viewer understand and perceive its archaeological importance . It is also a storehouse of priceless artefacts, statues and other excavated materials from the site. There is also a mini- auditorium here, where audio-visual presentations are played introducing this kingdom to the visitor.
We are seated in the car, Tissa said,' There are three zones in this kingdom- Palace Zone, Temple Zone and Monastery Zone; we shall first visit the Palace Zone.' Wow! life must have been so simple without a shopping zone. Also a lesson or two can be learned about religious tolerance.
It was 10.00 am when we walked through the palace gate, unlike the Sigriya Palace which does not even show you the first course of a seven course meal, this one atleast gives you a glimpse of all seven courses. Tissa talked a lot about the kingdom's rain water harvesting for irrigation, its architecture- use of bricks, plaster( made of limestone, sand and water) sculptors on stone, Chinese Influence ( wooden roofs, sculptor of dragons), moonstone at the entrance and rock inscriptions.
The city of Polonnaruwa has a citadel and an outer city, you don't need Roald Dahl's imagination to see that, the old structure still remains. It was really wonderful to walk around an unadulterated human habitat which is more desirable in its shattered form than the modern electric and glass cities.
Tissa said,' King Parakramabahu had 300 wives, some of them came from India and were Hindus; they brought expensive presents with them which explains why the kingdom has an abundance of sculptors and statues of Hindu Gods, including the famous Natraja Statue'. Another king with scores of wives and I thought the French were romantic.
We were seated in the car again to go towards the Buddhist Monastery Precinct. Some of the monasteries are older than the Polonnaruva era. These were invaded by foreign invaders and succumbed to great losses. Most of the statues have missing arms and eyes as they contained precious stones which were plundered.
It was hot outside, Tissa seated us in the car once again and spoke,' one man died here yesterday due to heat.' He drank some water, the air conditioner in the car had never felt better; it was time to get down and walk towards Gal- Vihara. the rock- cut temple of Buddha. It was outstanding and so was this trip to Pollonnaruwa.
Essential Details
Distance from Colombo- 228 km
Distance from Sigiriya- 55 km
Telephone +94112500732
Timing- 7.00am- 5.30pm
Entrance Fee- 12.50$ or 1775 LKR for adults and same for children from SAARC country.
- 25$ Other foreigners.
Guide- Available
Cafeteria- NO
Clothing- Modest dressing
Toilets- Available
Distance from Colombo- 228 km
Distance from Sigiriya- 55 km
Telephone +94112500732
Timing- 7.00am- 5.30pm
Entrance Fee- 12.50$ or 1775 LKR for adults and same for children from SAARC country.
- 25$ Other foreigners.
Guide- Available
Cafeteria- NO
Clothing- Modest dressing
Toilets- Available
Dambulla Cave temple
The third dawn at Srilanka, it was time to move from Sigiriya and go towards cooler Kandy. We sat in the van, after having eaten a wholesome breakfast, hoping it would last us till lunch; drove towards Dambulla Cave temple. A gradient walk and many steps brought us at the entrance of the temple.
Ah! so third day and 4th site. I was stopped at the entrance because my arms were not covered, ( I was wearing a sleeveless top). Rats! I had left my scarf in the car, I had to borrow a scarf from the shoe-keeper outside the temple and he charged me 100Rs for that.
The first cave is man made and the rest of them are natural ones. There are in total 153 statues of Buddha and also of Hindu Gods like Ganesha and Shiva. Many locals travel barefooted to temple as a regular practice to pray.
The diligent statues, the evenness of its placement, the orange colour, hues in the ceiling and walls and the dark caves created an essence of spirituality which was very contagious. I felt vey peaceful, pleased, powerful and positive.
This site magnifies the fact that the Sri Lankan Kings were rich, prosperous and very religious.
Essential Detail
Distance from Colombo- 168 km
Distance from Sigiriya- 20 km
Timing- 5.30am- 8.00pm
Entrance Fees- Free
Guide- Available
Cafeteria- Yes
Clothing- Modest, arms and knees to be covered.
Distance from Colombo- 168 km
Distance from Sigiriya- 20 km
Timing- 5.30am- 8.00pm
Entrance Fees- Free
Guide- Available
Cafeteria- Yes
Clothing- Modest, arms and knees to be covered.
The temple of the sacred tooth relic- Kandy
At dusk, the same day we had the honour of being at another holy place, very important to Sri Lanka and millions of devotees from all over the world. The Temple Of Sacred Tooth Relic is a custodian of a tooth(canine) of Gautam Buddha.
The cool weather of a rain- soaked Kandy was like the blossoming of the first flower in my potted plant. We over- spent our time at Kandy downtown, that left little time before the Kandy Cultural Show to visit the temple so we decided to visit it after the show. It was 6.30 pm, when we reached the temple, it was raining. In front of the ticket counter there was an arch of umbrellas, we kept the soggy tickets inside and negotiated with a guide for his service. He introduced himself as Tissa, and I was reminded of our guide in Polonnaruva, suddenly he seemed younger as this Tissa was very frail.
Tissa's stride was as natural as a person walking in his own house. He spoke with such zeal defying any monotony that generally sets in from doing repetitive job. He explained the significance of all important aspects of architecture, history, religion and narrated the stories to us like a teacher to his student.
The temple is a part of a complex which houses more than one shrine, an Audience Hall, World Buddhism Museum, Royal Palace, National Museum of Kandy, The Bodhi Tree to name a few. Tissa took us to the heavily guarded room that houses the tooth relic which rests in a golden lotus, encased in a jewel casket. There were lot of people who were queued up, he walked us through them and we stood right in front of glittering barrier. He said, 'keep looking at that gate, it will open and you can see the casket in which the tooth sits.' Sure as he said, the gates opened revealing the glorious object of spirituality, and there was a sigh from people all around followed by silence. In less than 5 minutes the doors were shut again. The alert queue let itself loose once again waiting for their chance.
Behind this is a three storey relatively new shrine, which houses a number of Buddha statues gifted by the Thai devotees. We took our time, to see each painting hung on the high wall, each a bead in the garland of the history of the tooth relic.
I shall treat you with a visual experience to understand better (maybe I have run out of words :)
Essentail Detaails
Distance from Colombo- 150 km
Distance from Dambulla Cave Temple- 72km
Timing- 5.30am-8.00pm
Entrance Fees- 10$ and 50% off for SAARC visitors on producing a valid passport
Guide- Available
Cafeteria- NO
Clothing- Modest dressing, no shoes allowed inside.
Toilets- Available
Distance from Colombo- 150 km
Distance from Dambulla Cave Temple- 72km
Timing- 5.30am-8.00pm
Entrance Fees- 10$ and 50% off for SAARC visitors on producing a valid passport
Guide- Available
Cafeteria- NO
Clothing- Modest dressing, no shoes allowed inside.
Toilets- Available
Old Town Of Galle and its Fortification
Unlike the above, this site is neither religious nor owes its roots to the native. The credit goes to the Portuguese, who developed it as as a port to facilitate trade. A century later the Dutch occupied it and erected the fort wall, the city as we see today reached its glory in the 18th century under the Dutch East Indies Company. Neither the years nor the Tsunami has been able to eat these walls, the man-made structures remains same, only man and his companions inhabiting them have changed.
We reached there early evening from Calamander Beach Resort, Unawatuna. As soon as you enter the fort wall, you feel like you have entered a museum city. The distinctive European architecture in an equatorial country is like seeing penguins in the banks of river Ganges. The first impression will simply dumb struck you. The driver drove us to the lighthouse tower (1938), we got down to explore the port that was once the only important port of Sri Lanka.
Dutch Reformed Church, August 1775 was closed for visitors but this colonial structure will linger in my memory for long. We began our stroll, walking through the narrow cobbled lanes, houses on both the sides looked emphatically Dutch but you cannot miss the local touch. Many have been converted into souvenir shops, handicraft shops, cafes, hotels etc. In the center, there was a band playing, they did not mind the fact that they did not have any audience. Street food, street shopping and street theater always pop out for tourists and so it did there too.
Essential Details
Distance from Colombo- 180km
Accessible from- Galle Town, Unawatuna,
Entry- Free
Dress code- no
Close by attraction- Galle Cricket Stadium
Distance from Colombo- 180km
Accessible from- Galle Town, Unawatuna,
Entry- Free
Dress code- no
Close by attraction- Galle Cricket Stadium
Central Highlands Of Sri Lanka
Nuwara Eliya, the hill town of Sri Lanka was established by the British who grew tea there. Today, it produces world- class tea and is a perfect tourist destination due to cooler climates and spectacular tea plantations.
The Central Highlands aka Horton Plains is 30 km from Nuwara Eliya, taking abpout an hour to reach.
The Central Highlands aka Horton Plains is 30 km from Nuwara Eliya, taking abpout an hour to reach.
We were there before sunrise, and yet stood at the tail of the queue which took about 40 minutes. From the ticket counter we drove to the parking lot and none other than Sambar Deer was there waiting to extend a warm welcome. If you think it escorted me inside; you think like me.
Before one can enter the park, their bags are checked and no plastic items are allowed to pass through excepting water bottles. From the water bottles, the plastic packaging from outside is removed to reduce the plastic that gets inside or rather outside. way to go!!!
The entire trail is about 10 km, its like a circle either you go left ward or to the right, we went left so our sequence was Mini World's End, World's End and Baker's Fall.
Horton Plains are a part of Central highlands and open to the visitors. Here, one can see two types of vegetation, mountain forests and grassland. It is a unique experience to explore it on foot as it is a home to elusive leopards, of 27 species of endemic birds found in Sri Lanka 20 are found here. The topography changes dramatically as you walk through grassland to thick equatorial forest, on marshy slopes to rocky walkways. Within this park lies the hidden world of many rare species of flora and fauna including the rhododendron flowers which bloom in April.
Essential Details
Distance from Nuwera Eliya- 30km
Distance from Colombo- 200km
Entry ticket- Foreign adult- 2058 LKR ; Child - 1097.60 LKR (Taxes Extra) No discount for SAARC residents
Dress Code-none
Cafeteria- Yes
Time taken- 3 1/2 hours
Distance from Nuwera Eliya- 30km
Distance from Colombo- 200km
Entry ticket- Foreign adult- 2058 LKR ; Child - 1097.60 LKR (Taxes Extra) No discount for SAARC residents
Dress Code-none
Cafeteria- Yes
Time taken- 3 1/2 hours
Thanks for reading till the end. If you like it do leave a comment.
To read my blog on 10 things you should know about Sri Lanka- Click here
To read my blog on 10 things you should know about Sri Lanka- Click here