Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

Metal staircases hug the steep slopes of Sigiriya.

Sri Lankans climbing up to the summit.

The moat outside Sigiriya.

Sigiriya or the Lion's Rock

A small island like Sri Lanka is blessed with 7 UNESCO heritage sites. One of them is the city of Kandy on account of the sacred Buddha Tooth Temple (see preceding post).

Another is Sigiriya. Some say it's the eighth wonder of the world.

A solid granite rock 370m high that rises from a plain is bound to elicit a feeling of awe. Once a palace, fortress and a refuge for Buddhist clergy, it's now a big tourist attraction like Angkor Wat. In fact, the moat and entrance to Sigiriya reminded me of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

At first, I was undecided whether to visit Sigiriya as I wondered if I could walk up the steep flight of steps to the summit.

I took an early morning bus for the 4 hours' ride to Sigiriya. I still remember the bus conductor for he failed to return me my change! But he made it up by telling me where to get off. I had to walk about 1 km along a dusty unpaved road to the entranceof Sigiriya! However, it was a nice quiet walk and I had the rare opportunity of hearing a bird singing. Rare because the mighty crow is the king of the skies in Sri Lanka!

The passengers in every bus and car that passed by looked at me as if in pity to see me trudging in the hot sun. So to avoid them I purposely walked along the moat! A huge monitor lizard relaxing under a huge tree startled me. I thought it was a snake! When I recovered from the shock, I had a good laugh.