Time absolutely flew by, and it was suddenly our final weekend in Sri Lanka. We had to go out with a bang, so we hit two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in one weekend.
On Friday evening, our favorite driver, Mr. Nihal (same driver from Yala and Kandy), drove us to the Cultural Triangle. In one triangle-shaped area of the country (with Kandy as the bottom point), Sri Lanka has lots of good stuff – so they call the area the Cultural Triangle. We got into Sigiriya pretty late on Friday evening, so we didn’t get to experience much culture before bedtime!
Sigiriya is in the heart of the Cultural Triangle …for more reasons than just geography! It is home to the Lion Rock, an ancient fortress built atop a GIANT rock formation. The brilliance behind this early form of urban planning all stems from a bit of family drama. In the year 477, Kashyapa (an illegitimate son of the king) overthrew his father and took over the throne. When all was said and done, Kashyapa feared that his half brother (the rightful heir), Mugalan, would come back to reclaim what was his. This fear led Kashyapa to move the capitol to a new city that he would build on Sigiriya rock – a genius defense mechanism! As you’ll see in the photos, this is no primitive city on a rock; it’s a highly complex development, which considered defensive strategies, access to resources and completely aesthetic touches. Spoiler alert: Mugalan defeated Kashyapa and moved the capitol out of Sigiriya.
We got up early Saturday morning in an attempt to complete the hike before it got too hot. I should mention that even at 8am, it was about 35° C (95° F) and there are 1,242 stairs to get to the top!
Before the final round of stairs, Kashyapa built a terrace with an elaborate lion entranceway. Initially, there was a lion’s head that sat above the paws, but it has since collapsed.
The view from the top made every step worth it. AND THE BREEZE!! We were truly speechless. The detail and planning that went into the fort is so impressive – it’s hard to come to terms with the fact that it was created 1,500+ years ago. Some of the water retaining systems Kashyapa put in place still work today!
On the hike down, we encountered tons of monkeys! They were all hanging out in the giant banyan trees.
We spent the rest of the day cooling down and relaxing after our hike. We ate dinner at the resort on Saturday night; it was our only bad dinner in Sri Lanka!
On Sunday morning, Mr. Nihal took us to the cave temple in Dambulla. This Buddhist temple contains five different caves, which date back to the first century BC. The caves are at the very top of the rock, so we had to hike to the top first!
Each cave is full of paintings and statues. You have never seen so many Buddhas!
I captured a sweet moment as this precious little girl prayed and left flowers.
On the way down, we saw so many monkeys. They were a little too comfortable with us. A group of them were sleeping, while a baby one was eating a flower (which was most certainly an offering!).
Suddenly, we were surrounded! A woman nearby asked her friend “Do monkeys have rabies?!” Haha!
We made our way around the monkeys and headed back to Colombo for our last week in Sri Lanka!
Each blog is more FASCINATING than the last – I don’t see how you climbed all those steps ! Such a country–and what a rock-it would be interesting to understand how geologically it was formed. I don’t see how any future country you two visit ,could possibly be as unusual as Sri Lanka and its surroundings
are. . You create a desire in me to study Buddhism and how it differs from Christianity. Grandmother
Was it odd to see Buddha without SisterWoman?
Absolutely fabulous, Ann. The pictures are spectacular and the narrative is informative and witty. It is a joy to read these posts. Keep up the good work, and I am thrilled to know that you are having this wonderful opportunity. BLC
Just now having the chance to see this latest blog. I’m with G, I can’t believe you climbed all those steps! Again I think you have some award winning photography. You will have to find a way to display some of your favorite pictures when your travels are over!