Climbing the Lion Rock in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

Take monkeys, a huge rock, ruined palaces and a patricidal king, and what do you get? It could be the premise of a new movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, or it could be the Lion Rock in Sigiriya. While that movie does sound pretty cool, the experience of climbing to the top of the Lion Rock, exploring the ruins of an old palace and getting an unparalleled 360 degree view of the countryside below is hard to beat.

The gardens

The paths that take you to the base of the rock pass through gardens, monkey hang outs, snake charmers and caves. Some people get tunnel vision and head straight for the rock, but it’s worth checking out the surrounding area. Apparently they are the oldest landscaped gardens in the world, and in some areas you’ll have them all to yourself, as most people will be on the rock.

The climb

The climb isn’t as hard as it looks, but if you are afraid of heights it might not be too enjoyable. The Lion Rock is famous for its paintings (frescoes), which are still in remarkably good shape. These, along with the palace itself, date back about 1600 years. The paintings are interesting because instead of the usual religious stuff you see just about everywhere, King Kasyapa decided to decorate the walls of the rock with half naked women. You can see these paintings by climbing up a separate stair case – it’s pretty steep though! About half way up the rock is a small plateau where you can take a rest and escape the sun for a while. Obviously you are exposed to the full power of the sun while climbing the rock, so this rest is welcome. From there it’s a tough (and sometimes slow) climb to the top.

The top

Upon arriving at the top I asked myself one question: “Where is the palace??”  To say it’s in a ruined state is a massive understatement; there are really only walls, pools and staircases left. It’s still interesting to look around, but the real star of the show is the landscape below. It was here that I was first introduced to the strange phenomenon of people taking photos with iPads. Everyone seemed to be doing it; I almost felt a bit pretentious taking photos with an actual camera.

The top of the Lion Rock is pretty small and doesn’t take long to check out, but it is a great place to just sit and relax – I spent about 2 hours up there, but you could easily see it all in  half an hour.

The story of King Kasyapa

Kasyapa didn’t take it too well when he was overlooked as the heir to the throne, despite being the oldest son. He decided to imprison and then kill his father, and take power for himself – which actually worked out pretty well until he realised the people hated him for it. He abandoned his capital in Anuradhapura and set up shop on the Lion Rock in Sigiriya. He built a huge lion gateway (only the paws remain today) to help protect himself, which is how the rock got its name. King Kasyapa was eventually killed in a battle with his brother, bringing his 22 year reign to an end.

Further reading: Find out more about this crazy king!

Climbing the Lion Rock: The details

If you have done a lot of travelling in Asia you’ll be shocked with the prices of attractions in Sri Lanka. The Lion Rock is no different; it costs about $30 to enter! It’s definitely worth the price though; I’d say it was the best out and out tourist attraction I went to in Sri Lanka.

The town of Sigiriya is tiny and there isn’t really any need to stay there; you can reach it from Dambulla, the home of the popular cave temples, in about half an hour. There are plenty of accommodation options in Dambulla – I stayed in a small guesthouse on the outskirts of town which I’d recommend, as the town itself isn’t that inviting. If you are travelling in Sri Lanka, make sure you go to the hill country – it was the highlight of my 2 week trip.

Dwayne “The Lion Rock” Johnson

Have you been to the Lion Rock in Sigiriya? Let me know!

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Jon Algie

A travel blogger from New Zealand who hates talking about himself in the third person and has no imagination when it comes to naming websites.

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