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Sigiriya
Sigiriya is a small village in Sri Lanka also famous for the Sigiriya Rock Fortress and other natural landmarks. The area is located in central Sri Lanka about 7 hours by bus from the capital Colombo. This is a great place to visit in Sri Lanka as it shows you about the history, local culture and the beautiful nature that this country has to offer. This was my first stop in Sri Lanka after arriving late at night and spending 1 night in Negombo near the airport. Sigiriya is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Sri Lanka both for foreigners and tourists. It's also located near the ancient city of Polonnaruwa which I've mentioned on a seperate page. Here are my recommendations for Sigiriya.
There are different ways to arrive here including by bus, taxi or domestic flight. I opted for the cheapest option which was taking the public bus. While it may be daunting to some travelling in a foreign country on a public bus I felt very safe and found them to be cheap and quick. After arriving at the international airport in Negombo and spending the night in Negombo I headed to the Negombo bus station and took the number 34 bus to a town called Kurunegala. In Kurunegala I got off the bus and had to find the next bus which was public bus 549. After taking this bus up to the Inamaluwa junction I got off and took a tuk tuk from here to my hostel which was nearby. Overall the journey took about 7 hours if I'm not mistaken and cost no more than a few usd. This is a great way to travel around the country on a budget. The bus station in Negombo was quite small and it didn't take long to find the correct bus. Kurungela was a bit more chaotic and had far more buses but I was immediately asked by a friendly local which bus number I needed and he happily pointed me in the right direction. I found the Sri Lankan's to be very friendly and helpful.
Sigiriya Rock is an old fortress which in now a UNESCO heritage site located in central Sri Lanka. It's close to the town of Dambulla. The fortress was built ontop of a large column of rock which is 180 meters high. The rock was chosen by King Kashyapa to build his palace on during the 5th century. The capital and royal palace were abandoned after the king's death and was used as a buddhist monastery until the 14th century. The entry fee is 5000 Sri Lankan rupees which nowadays is about 13 usd. Back when I visited in 2019 this was worth about 30 usd. There are quite a bit of steps to climb up but it doesn't require any level of physical ability other than being able to walk. The next hill I mention (Pidurangala) requires slightly more physical ability as there a bit of scaling involved. Once you reach the top of the plateau you'll get a fantastic view of the expansive plains, Pidurangala rock nearby, another mountain in the distance and a large river. You can walk around the old ruins at the top and get a sense of the ancient urban planning. In the pictures the line up to get up looks massive (and it was) however I made the mistake of going on a public holiday. Many locals had this weekend off so the place got extremely packed. Normally, it's not nearly this crowded. Also, watch out for massive swarms of wasps (I'm not exaggerating). I'll never forget arriving at the top of the hill and having to duck for cover because a huge cloud of wasps basically engulfed a portion of ruins. Luckily, me and the other people around made it out unharmed and were able to enjoy visiting Sigiriya.
Pidurangala Rock is another relatively short hike very close to Sigiriya. The views from Pidurangala were debatably better than from Sigiriya since from here you can actually see Sigiriya rock clearly in the distance. Pidurangala only cost about 3 usd to visit and was far less crowded (even on the public holiday). Most of the hike is quite easy though it's on a rougher path compared to Sigiriya's well paved staircases. There is a part of the hike near the top where you have to scale some rocks likely on all 4's. Therefore you should at least have an average level of physical ability. There aren't really many ruins like Sigiriya but you'll see a sleeping buddha carved into the mountain side and will be rewarded with a great view. It's an extremely popular spot for sunrise and sunset.
Safaris are popular activities throughout many places in Sri Lanka due to its spectacular nature and wildlife. I didn't actually go on a safari myself while I visited Sigiriya but it was a very popular activity for many. There are plenty of different tour companies that offer different prices and standards. My hostel at the time was able to arange safaris so the process was very simple. You're likely to see lots of birds, elephants, other wildlife and jungle. Note: the photo below wasn't taken by me.
There were quite a few restaurants nearby the main Sigiriya Rock site where you can enjoy both local cuisine and western favourites. My most memorable eating experience however was at the hostel. One thing I found common in many hostels in Sri Lanka is they offered free cooking lessons where you would help the hosts to cook and then enjoy the delicious local food you made. This was no exception at Roy's Villa Hostel. As I remember, every night they offered the cooking class and we saw how they made Sri Lankan favourites such as potato curries, daal, coconut sambal and chiapati bread. I'd highly recommend experiencing a cooking class in Sri Lanka. One other thing to note is that lots of the food available is vegeterian. Sri Lanka along with India are amongst the countries that will give you such delicious vegetarian food you won't even miss eating meat!
Roy's Villa Hostel is a fantastic place to stay while visiting Sigiriya if you want to stay in a hostel. Roy and his family were so friendly and hospitable from the minute I arrived. They help to arrange everything including tours, motorbike rentals, transport and food. The hostel was clean and the dorm rooms were very nice with each bed receiving a decent amount of privacy considering it's a hostel room. Every night people would attend the cooking class before having a big "family dinner". Afterwards we would play different games, talk about travels and enjoy our time at this wonderful countryside hostel. Aside from this you'll see lots of local life happening around. The hostel is next to an onion farm so you'll see the farmers working and can enjoy a true rural Sri Lankan experience.
