SRI LANKA: SIGIRIYA ROCK

Day #2 in Sri Lanka was even more exhausting (but just as exciting) as Day #1.  Remember that we had arrived at the Colombo Airport at 5:30 AM after 30+ hours of travel, then spent most of that first day driving and walking around Anuradhapura. When we got back to our hotel, we were totally drained. Maybe that's why we couldn't figure out how to turn out all the lights in our room without also turning off the AC. (We had one of those set-ups where you put your key in a slot to turn on the electricity in the room.) It was far too hot to sleep without AC, so we chose the lesser of two evils and left the lights on all night. Luckily, we had our eye masks from our flight, but even with that relative darkness and our complete exhaustion, we had a very fitful night of sleep.

We had arranged to meet Sanjay at 6:00 AM, and we were wide awake when our alarm went off at 5:00 AM. (We hadn't showered in almost three days and needed a little extra time to get ready.) The hotel had packed a breakfast for us of meat and cheese sandwiches and fruit, but I was feeling a little sick to my stomach (heat exhaustion? crazy traffic? something else?) and didn't really eat any of the breakfast.

At 7:30 AM we were in line to buy tickets to climb Sigiriya, or Lion Rock, our second UNESCO World Heritage Site in two days. 

Bob had left his hat at one of the stupas in Anuradhapura on the previous day, and all I had brought was a baseball cap, so when we saw vendors selling these coconut leaf hats, we bought two, forgetting that we were in a place where we were expected to bargain. I'm sure we made the seller's day.

The area around the ticket office was cool and quiet:

We just laughed at this sign. What could monkeys do to us?

Well, while the monkeys might not get us, this mountain might. We had NO IDEA what we were in for--a tortuously long and hot ascent to the top of this rock along with thousands of other pilgrims. How bad can 650 feet of vertical climb BE?

Um, pretty bad. Especially after three days with no sleep, a morning with no breakfast, and intense heat and humidity.

It started out pleasant enough with wide, shallow, shaded steps and frequent landings:

There were yellow blossoms scattered on the steps--oh, how pretty!

However, I must confess that this yellow sign made me a little nervous:

Then suddenly there were LOTS of steps and NO landings:

At least the steps were fairly easy to navigate:

We had it a lot better than the people who originally turned this rock into a fortress. Here are THEIR stairs:

There appeared to be a viewing deck above us that was creating a bottleneck:

Aha! One of those dangerous monkeys the sign had warned us about!

He seemed totally unfazed by the paparazzi:

"Okay, who's next?"

We came across these two signs. The first is an incredible massacre of the English language:

The second is a terrifying follow-up to the sign at the bottom of the mountain warning us to "Be Silent" in the presence of wasps:

Being the intrepid travelers that we were (and now understanding why our guide was waiting for us in the parking lot), we determined to press forward.

We soon realized that what was causing the bottleneck was a tightly winding staircase leading straight up into  . . . ? We weren't sure, but it didn't look like a good place for anyone who is claustrophobic. 

At the top of this set of stairs was a long cave with a large overhang that protected the back wall from the elements. On that back wall was a mural that Bob called "the Sri Lankan Playboy," image after image of bare-chested, well-endowed women. It was actually a relief that we weren't allowed to take pictures, and even looking up images on the internet, I couldn't find one that I was comfortable posting. 

We came down from the cave in a similar tube of stairs. Our next stop was a large, flat area that at first I thought was finally the top. We were greeted by these two sentinels:

However, when I looked across the broad expanse, I was horrified to see yet another set of metal stairs zig-zagging up the mountainside. (How did the ancient peoples get up this cliff without the stairs?) This was just a terrace.

Well, let's get it over with.  We entered the final ascent between two giant lion's paws. By the way, archaeologists believe there used to be more lion here--probably a chest and head--that was vandalized and destroyed over the centuries. Hence, the name Sigiriya, which means "lion rock."

A fifth century ruler, King Kasyapa, built his palace on the very top of this rock, and these lion paws were the entrance to the stairs to his castle. The cave frescoes we had seen on the way up were part of his mountain fortress decor. I wonder how often King K. had to climb up and down these cliffs?

I also wonder if these horizontal lines carved in the rock have something to do with the original path up the mountain:

I was grateful for the stairs. However, I do tend to catastrophize, and in my mind, I could picture a person at the top of the stairs falling over backwards, and the whole lot of us being laid down like dominoes. It was not a pretty picture.

HOORAY! Just 1,200 stairs later (according to my watch, the equivalent of 64 floors), we finally reached the Top of the Rock!

At some point conservationists really ought to wall off this area to prevent further erosion, but when we were there, what was left of King K's fortress (which later became a Buddhist monastery) was open to free-range roaming.

The view off the unprotected edge (okay, there was another level about ten feet down in most places) looked like a scene from the 1973 movie Lost Horizon or the 1993 movie Jurassic Park:

A group of school children in their white uniforms shared the summit with us:

Here is a 360° view from the top:

It was hot, humid, and shadeless on top, so we didn't stay too long. Here is what we saw as we started down towards the lion's paws, not a view for those afraid of heights:

The view from half-way down the staircase:

. . . and arriving at the Lion's Paws Terrace:

Someone whose native tongue is English helped put this sign together:

I hadn't noticed this first aid station on our way up, but after coming back from the top, I can totally understand the need for it:

There were also large barrels of water where visitors were refilling their water bottles. We were concerned about the potability and did not drink from it:

There were macaque monkeys everywhere on the terrace:

We continued our descent on a different set of stairs, avoiding the awkwardness that narrow passages and too many people cause:

There had to have been more than one way down because we didn't see that many people:

Ah, shade!

Once we got near the bottom, helpful signs directed us to the tourist shopping area parking lot:

I had resolved to NOT consume my weight in caffeinated beverages on this trip, but I have to confess that before we rejoined our guide, we each bought a Coke Zero and enjoyed them immensely while sitting in a shady spot. This was one of the best Cokes I have ever had.

Sigiriya is one of the most visited places in Sri Lanka and really a must-do if you are visiting the country. Besides being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is considered an Eighth Wonder of the World (a list of places that are considered comparable to the original Seven Wonders of the World). 

Most importantly, it is one of the places featured in the music video of the 1982 Duran Duran hit, "Save a Prayer." What could be more important than that??

If you don't want to watch the entire video, skip to 2:25 for some beautiful views of Sigiriya.