Stops: Sigiriya, Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple (Day 67)

We decided to do an excursion for the day with a rented car and hired driver. SWP Eco-Lodge hooked us up with an excellent chauffeur and we headed out for a full day of UNESCO World Heritage–and awesomeness up in the sky and below the earth.

First, we had to get out of Kandy proper, which was an interesting little jaunt in itself. The main road out is the only road along a level area, so it is a long stretch of commercial development. Schools, a supermarket we stopped at, endless car lots left from the days of importing used Japanese cars, open air auto part storage–a whole block of identical quarter panels followed by a block of identical Toyota Corolla hoods like books on a shelf, cheaper hotels and roadside cafes. It was very stop and go until we got out of this commercial smear and up to the next open highlands.

As we are about to attempt Sigiriya in blistering heat.

The area around Sigiriya has been inhabited for thousands of years and the temple and fortress complex on the granite outcropping dates back about 1500 years or so. This inselberg, or monadnock, is one of many such formations in the area, but I think it is the only one that was “developed” so to speak. The nearby Pidurangala is a more rugged mountain to climb The UNESCO site and NASA have great images and information. Think Masada for comparison: elevation of Sigiriya is about double the short side of Masada and half the tall side. And, that is a lot of steps all the way up.

There was a huge complex around the fort reminiscent of Angkor Wat.

The base of the fortress complex is surrounded by interesting boulders and protrusions.

It was a long, long way to the top in the fierce sun, heat, and wind. Etsuko took shelter under some trees at the peak after we made it all the way up and I went out to explore a bit. There are just foundations, stubs or walls, and terraces up and down around the top, and a large tank for water. The views from up top were powerful that day and so was the wind. It just comes whipping across the plain.

Valiant explorer pose.

Just chilling by the tank at the top.

The exact moment I cracked my phone screen doing a timed photo. The wind was strong up there!

The whole upland valley spreads out below Sigiriya.

Looking down at the lake.

I put up a quick post a while ago with a panoramic video view, but here is another one.

These were the easy stairs. They had a handrail and proper steps, not just old rock carvings as treads.But still, coming down was pretty tough.

Walls of Sigiriya

It is hard to capture the immensity and overwhelming feeling of these huge walls of natural stone rising and rising above and all around you. This seems like the narrow path, but there were other far narrower paths, or really shelves or long niches, along the walls without high guardrails to keep you on the rock face. Obviously, not accessible to visitors, or to marauding soldiers of the past.

We made it safely back down and reunited with our driver on the other side of the park to carry on to the Buddha Cave Temple. From above amazing rock formations to below them.

It was quite a transition from the brutally hot sun and wind atop the mountain to the cool and contemplative caves nearby. It was very peaceful in this temple carved into and tucked under the mountain. Water dripped, but otherwise no sounds and nobody else with us. A good end to the day and then nap time in the car back.