1237 stairs and a view to die for
Our last day in Sigiriya had been reserved for Lion Rock - a 200m high monolith sitting just a few hundred metres from 'town.' An early breakfast and out to the rock in the cool of the morning only to stand in line for 20min to get our very expensive entry tickets. 5,520Rp each ($30USD) for the privilege of totally knackered legs in 3hrs time.
The history of Lion Rock goes back well into BC times with evidence that caves around the base were used by monks from the 3rd century BC. Somewhere around 477 AD Kasyapa 1st knocked off his father and built his palace atop the rock where he ruled for about 18 years before his half-brother (and the rightful heir to the throne) Mugalan succeeded him. The new king decided not to rule from the palace atop the rock and handed it back to the monks who stayed till somewhere around the 12th century after which the rock and the palace was abandoned and swallowed up by the jungle.
As with so many sites in SEAsia, British archaeologists began to dig around Sigiriya in the last decades of the 19th century. More research was carried out in the 1930's and again from 1982 when the Central Cultural Fund took control of major archaeological sites in the cultural triangle (Polonnaruwa, Anaradhapura, Sigiriya etc).
Artifacts now in the museum suggest the inhabitants of Sigiriya had contact with the Ancient Persians (the layout of the gardens shows a distinct influence) and China - both dating from the 2 & 3rd century AD.
I can never resist taking photos of signs on our travels - sometimes its a 'lost in translation' other times its just plain weird. As you can see from this photo, you are not allowed to walk on the grass or the walls (OK I can deal with that) or bring plastic into the park (yep, good idea) but handcuffs are just fine!
From the museum/ticket office you cross the moat and stroll through the water gardens. And then the trees part and you come face to face with 'the rock' …. and the stairs … lots of them.
Up you go flights of 15-20 at a time, typically Asian with narrow treads and steep risers, through the Boulder Arch and a stack more stairs, stopping occasionally at terraced levels with increasingly amazing views of the land surrounding Sigiriya.
Apart from the steep narrow stone stairs, there is one section where you curl your way up a precarious spiral staircase for a 5min look at some ancient wall paintings. Photography is not allowed so I've lifted a couple of pictures from the internet to give you an idea. They're very similar to the ones we saw yesterday at Polonnaruwa.
Then it's back down a matching spiral staircase before you continue along past the Mirror Wall - not exactly a mirror finish now but looking carefully you can see 1500+yr old graffiti from the Chinese (if you know where to look or someone points it out). The outside of the mirror wall can be seen in photos of the rock taken from ground level - its the ochre coloured band about half way up.
Up you go, more stairs, till you reach the Lions Paw terrace - the last rest stop before the final steep ascent to the palace.
The views from the top are extraordinary and certainly just reward for the effort expended to get there.
The Palace grounds are now just ruins but cover an area of about 1.5 hectares and include the palace itself, terraced gardens, a bathing pool and outdoor throne where the King could sit and survey his lands.
Despite the number of people at the summit, it really didn't feel overly crowded, though we did chose to give #instagram point a miss. Watching the Asian girls do their peace signs, the Aussies try to replicate the Toyota jump and the Russians do their sit and pout pose was enough.
Then of course you have to come back DOWN!
1237 stairs on the way up, and more like 1100 on the way down (its a slightly different route down from the Lion Paw terrace), before you ….. you guessed it …. exit through the gift shop!
From here its a fairly short walk back to town past the 'foreigner carpark' and the 'elephant house. This part of Sri Lanka still has wild elephants - as I mentioned yesterday, they are supposed to stay behind the electrified elephant fence but sometimes they have other plans. The locals built lookout houses which are 'manned' each night. Armed with fire-crackers, the night guard's job is to frighten the wayward pachyderms back into the jungle and away from the town.
This afternoon's job is to collect our laundry and rest our very weary legs. Tomorrow we're on the road again … to Kandy.
The history of Lion Rock goes back well into BC times with evidence that caves around the base were used by monks from the 3rd century BC. Somewhere around 477 AD Kasyapa 1st knocked off his father and built his palace atop the rock where he ruled for about 18 years before his half-brother (and the rightful heir to the throne) Mugalan succeeded him. The new king decided not to rule from the palace atop the rock and handed it back to the monks who stayed till somewhere around the 12th century after which the rock and the palace was abandoned and swallowed up by the jungle.
As with so many sites in SEAsia, British archaeologists began to dig around Sigiriya in the last decades of the 19th century. More research was carried out in the 1930's and again from 1982 when the Central Cultural Fund took control of major archaeological sites in the cultural triangle (Polonnaruwa, Anaradhapura, Sigiriya etc).
Artifacts now in the museum suggest the inhabitants of Sigiriya had contact with the Ancient Persians (the layout of the gardens shows a distinct influence) and China - both dating from the 2 & 3rd century AD.
I can never resist taking photos of signs on our travels - sometimes its a 'lost in translation' other times its just plain weird. As you can see from this photo, you are not allowed to walk on the grass or the walls (OK I can deal with that) or bring plastic into the park (yep, good idea) but handcuffs are just fine!
From the museum/ticket office you cross the moat and stroll through the water gardens. And then the trees part and you come face to face with 'the rock' …. and the stairs … lots of them.
Up you go flights of 15-20 at a time, typically Asian with narrow treads and steep risers, through the Boulder Arch and a stack more stairs, stopping occasionally at terraced levels with increasingly amazing views of the land surrounding Sigiriya.
Apart from the steep narrow stone stairs, there is one section where you curl your way up a precarious spiral staircase for a 5min look at some ancient wall paintings. Photography is not allowed so I've lifted a couple of pictures from the internet to give you an idea. They're very similar to the ones we saw yesterday at Polonnaruwa.
Then it's back down a matching spiral staircase before you continue along past the Mirror Wall - not exactly a mirror finish now but looking carefully you can see 1500+yr old graffiti from the Chinese (if you know where to look or someone points it out). The outside of the mirror wall can be seen in photos of the rock taken from ground level - its the ochre coloured band about half way up.
The views from the top are extraordinary and certainly just reward for the effort expended to get there.
The Palace grounds are now just ruins but cover an area of about 1.5 hectares and include the palace itself, terraced gardens, a bathing pool and outdoor throne where the King could sit and survey his lands.
Despite the number of people at the summit, it really didn't feel overly crowded, though we did chose to give #instagram point a miss. Watching the Asian girls do their peace signs, the Aussies try to replicate the Toyota jump and the Russians do their sit and pout pose was enough.
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| We called this #Instagram Corner |
Then of course you have to come back DOWN!
1237 stairs on the way up, and more like 1100 on the way down (its a slightly different route down from the Lion Paw terrace), before you ….. you guessed it …. exit through the gift shop!
From here its a fairly short walk back to town past the 'foreigner carpark' and the 'elephant house. This part of Sri Lanka still has wild elephants - as I mentioned yesterday, they are supposed to stay behind the electrified elephant fence but sometimes they have other plans. The locals built lookout houses which are 'manned' each night. Armed with fire-crackers, the night guard's job is to frighten the wayward pachyderms back into the jungle and away from the town.
This afternoon's job is to collect our laundry and rest our very weary legs. Tomorrow we're on the road again … to Kandy.
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