Sigiriya The 5th-century rock fortress, 180 m above the plain

Where to stay in Sigiriya

Things to do from Sigiriya

• Culture and heritage · 2 to 3 hours, best from the 07:00 openingClimbing Sigiriya rock at the openingSigiriya is the rock fortress of King Kashyapa, who reigned from 477 to 495 CE and built his palace on a granite rock rising about 200 m above the plain; after his death it became a monastery until the 14th century, and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. The way up passes the water and boulder gardens, 22 surviving frescoes of celestial women, the Mirror Wall carved with verses by visitors from the 6th to the 14th centuries, and the paws of the great lion gate.
• Adventure · about 2 hours from the 05:00 opening, with a climb of 20 to 30 minutesSunrise from Pidurangala rockPidurangala is the rock just north of Sigiriya and almost as high, with a working Buddhist temple at its foot and a large reclining Buddha halfway up. From its top there is a clear view of Sigiriya rock across the forest, and it is a favourite climb for the sunrise.
• Nature and wildlife · an afternoon, about 15:00 to 18:00; the parks are 30 to 50 minutes from SigiriyaThe elephant gathering at Minneriya or KaudullaMinneriya and Kaudulla are neighbouring national parks joined by an elephant corridor, each built around an ancient reservoir from the time of the Anuradhapura kingdom. In the dry season the water recedes and fresh grass grows on the exposed shore, and up to 300 elephants gather at the Minneriya tank to feed, drink and bathe.
• Dining · about 2 and a half hours, running into lunchA village lunch in the paddy country near HabaranaIn the village of Hiriwadunna, near Habarana, a cart pulled by 2 bulls takes guests along farm tracks for 15 to 20 minutes to a lake, crossed on a simple catamaran with Sigiriya and Pidurangala rocks in view. A short walk through paddy fields and vegetable gardens leads to a village house and the tree hut where the farmers sleep.
• Culture and heritage · a morning or late afternoon visit, reached by a 10-minute climb up stone stepsThe painted caves of the Dambulla cave templeThe Rangiri Dambulla cave temple fills 5 main caves under a granite outcrop that rises 160 m above the plains, begun in the 1st century BCE when King Valagamba took refuge here and enlarged by later kings as late as the 18th century. It holds 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of kings and 4 of gods, a 14 m reclining Buddha carved from the rock and some 2,100 sq m of painted walls and ceilings, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.
• Culture and heritage · 2 and a half to 3 hours on siteRitigala, the forest monasteryRitigala is a Buddhist forest monastery on the slopes of a mountain near Habarana, in the district of Anuradhapura, once home to an ascetic order known as the monks of the rag robes. It grew over many centuries into a place of pilgrimage and was left to the forest between the 10th and 12th centuries.
• Nature and wildlife · about 3 hours, from about 06:00 or 15:00; the park is about 45 minutes from Sigiriya or DambullaAn elephant safari in Hurulu Eco ParkHurulu Eco Park lies on the edge of the Hurulu Forest Reserve near Habarana, forest that was declared a biosphere reserve in January 1977. The reserve is an important home of the Sri Lankan elephant, and it forms part of the corridor along which the herds move between Minneriya and Kaudulla national parks.
• Nature and wildlife · about 1 hour on a lodge's grounds, or a walk of about 3 hoursA birdwatching walk with a naturalist, arranged with your stayMany of the lodges around Sigiriya, Dambulla and Polonnaruwa keep a resident naturalist who leads birdwatching walks on the grounds and along the edges of nearby tanks and paddy fields. Around Habarana the birds include Malabar pied hornbills, eagles and herons, and for those with a sharp eye the brown fish owl.
• Dining · about 2 hours, ending with lunchA Sri Lankan cooking lesson, arranged with your stay near SigiriyaSeveral lodges around Sigiriya and Habarana teach guests to cook in a village-style kitchen over a wood fire, led by cooks from the nearby villages. A lesson often begins in the garden, picking the vegetables that go into the curries.
• Wellness · a single treatment, or a programme of 5 to 30 daysAn Ayurveda treatment, arranged with your stayAyurveda, the traditional medicine of Sri Lanka and India, is offered at several stays around Sigiriya and Dambulla, from a single treatment in a hotel spa to a resort built around programmes of 5 to 30 days. Treatments begin with an Ayurvedic doctor, who advises on the right ones for each guest.
• Nature and wildlife · from about 1 hour on a lodge's grounds to about 3 and a half hours in the forest, after darkA night walk for slender lorises, arranged with your stay near SigiriyaThe grey slender loris is a small nocturnal primate found only in southern India and Sri Lanka, where one race lives in the dry forests of the north and east. Several lodges near Sigiriya offer a night walk to look for it, on their own grounds or in the forest nearby, led by a resident naturalist.
• Culture and heritage · about 1 hourPottery with a village potter, arranged with your stay near SigiriyaSome stays near Sigiriya invite a potter from a nearby village, whose craft has come down through his family, to show guests how a pot is shaped on the wheel.