Sigiriya - it's a rock!

---

Sigiriya is a huge rock jutting out of the plains of central Sri Lanka. It has been used over the centuries as a place of worship and a defensive palace.

Getting to the top is a bit of effort ( the guide book said it is equivalent of 60 stories of stairs, that might be an exaggeration but it felt like it) and if like me don't handle heights it's a daunting prospect. Getting to the top makes the view so much more enjoyable. The prospect of wasp attacks mentioned on several signs on the way up did not eventuate. We took it nice and slow and made the top. The next day was spent lounging by the pool and resting sore knees and calves.

---

Photos

Ariel view of south end
This photo (not mine) shows the last third of the climb across an exposed rock face.

Photograph of early staircases
Luckily they have been upgraded a bit!

The mirror wall
The route to the top goes inside this. Above is a fresco wall with some in tact rock paintings accessible by a spiral stairwell.

The Lion stair
Only the feet of the lion carved in this wall are still there

Lions foot carving
Part of a larger but now destroyed lion sculpture

Nail biting stuff
This is on the stairwell that crosses the rock face near the top