The day we had planned this whole trip for (over 6 months of planning and preparation) finally dawned. We were going to climb the #SigiriyaRock finally... Yaaaaay! Super excited...
Only 12 out of the 60 strong tour party decided to take the rock climb expedition. Others preferred to stay back at the hotel relaxing or swimming. We drove for about 45 min to reach the Sigiriya Rock entrance.
NOTE: For foreigners, passports are checked and there is a USD. 30.00 fee to get in. For South Asian countries this fee is USD. 15.00 per head.
After completing those formalities, we started the approach path to the rock - a long kilometre walk through beautiful garden ruins on a red-soiled road leading to the base of the rock.
NOTE: This is a no-plastic zone. Although pet water bottles are allowed the wrappers around them are removed by the security guards. Its that strict and much appreciated.
Thus began our 1250 feet rock climb. The initial steps had high riser, low tread making it slightly difficult to climb needing extra effort but after 100 steps or so we got acclimatized to the terrain.
Then we arrived at the "Welcome" gate formed by two stones converging on each other creating a welcome entrance for the climbers. The move upwards from there was a combination of high riser and low riser steps.
Further down, the steps turned metallic as the rock became stepper. There were a couple of places where metallic bridges were built to crossover sections of the rock. It was tiring but very exciting....
Then we arrived at a spiral staircase that looped 6 storeys above. It was fun climbing it round-n-round and reaching a cave full of paintings and carvings. Then we were led down a bit and another fortress road took us to a flight of metallic steps. After another grunt through 100 odd steps we reached the base of the Lion entrance temple half way through the climb. It was a victory of sorts really.
The lion entrance is really royal (although in ruins now) as the steps take you straight to the top of the hill undulating across the rock surface. This is a complete metallic step route (understandable considering the rock and safety of climbing). This was a grueling climb for sure.
And then we were there ....
Everyone leapt in air as if we had won a war :)
It was indeed a very tough climb but everyone had completed it without any hassle or injury. A job well done...
At the top was big plateau (the foundation of the king's palace) and a brilliant landscape around it. There were gardens, lakes, security points, swimming tanks, water channels, dancing halls - all brilliantly developed centuries ago and still standing there majestically. Although in ruins, we could imagine the grandeur of this place in its prime...
A lot of flora and fauna around. We also encountered a brilliant snake sun-bathing on one of the rocks.
The view below was breathtaking in all directions possible. For miles there were forests and farms, then hills and other mountains in the distance. This one rock stood apart in this plains. Just magnificent.
We didn't want to but had to start our descent to continue our journey.
The pathways down was slightly different to the one we came up and it had some challenges too. Due to the high risers, climbing down put more pressure on the knees and hence needed high caution against twists and cramps.
As we came down half way the descent smoothed out into easier undulated red soiled roads and we could really enjoy the beauty around. We saw a bandicoot type creature climbing the rocks and trees while a big giant squirrel was enjoying fruits offered by tourists.
Near the base was a Cobra Cave naturally formed in shape of Cobra hood and cave inside for people to sit inside to protect themselves against the elements.
And then we were back on the ground gasping but highly satisfied with the effort put it in. Worth every step up and down the rock ... Amazing is the only word that everyone was seeming to say to each other as we trudged back to our bus after having the most sweet coconut water from a local guy.
There was a nice marketplace at the foothills with local artifacts, clothes and memorabilia. We enjoyed buying a few.
At the bus stop, the other non-climbing troupe had gathered already and we had the traditional Sigiriya Rock background group photo snapped to complete the picture...
We then had a long drive toward Colombo via Kandy. Our final destination of the day was Vibhishan temple. The place was majestic - built on the beachy sands of Colombo.
After days of peaceful roads and freeways, Colombo presented us with the same old metro issues - jammed roads, long traffic snarls, signal queues and it took us an hour to reach our hotel from the temple (less than 1 km away) but the Sigiriya Rock climb experience just nullified all those delays and frustrations.
Checked into hotel and closing the Sri Lanka league of the tour with Colombo ride and then onward to Maldives!!! Here we come....
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