Sigiriya, Sri Lanka: Lion's Rock

Third day, and already we were heading to our fourth Sri Lanka World Heritage Site. The country has eight. While I want to be all braggy about that (and the public transport near-death experiences we survived on the way to these sites), I reckon another incident deserves a brighter spotlight. A relationship milestone between me and my backpacking partner, the hubby.

So I looked at Sigiriya's rock fortress for the first time and pointed out, "We're climbing that? Where's the staircase?!". Gulp.   It was April of last year, two months before we set off to travel the whole world. Earlier that day, after our The Golden Temple of Dambulla visit, we hired a tuktuk driver to take us to Sigiriya and do a quickie stop somewhere for lunch. He brought us to some dingy cafeteria that charged $7 for two pieces of chicken that's prolly reheated a hundred times, a plate of stale rice, and about five teeny bowls of mysterious curried stuff. You see, I'm all for dingy so long as it equates to dirt-cheapness. Now let me tell you, that $7 is ridiculous for a cafeteria meal in Sri Lanka.

Couldn't even sink my teeth into this leg.   Hubby did the math (I never do) when they handed the bill. His usual stern face grew a wee bit sterner. Sometime between giving the waiter "the look" (which I must say, wasn't intimidating at all) and handing the rupees he muttered, "I want to spit on the bill.". But he didn't. In fact he peacefully left the cafeteria and hopped on the tuktuk without a word. And that, my folks is... Drumroll... The first time I saw him furious! So you guys go "Wow, that's a bit of an anti-climax!" since no ninja kicks were exhibited. But yeah, I learned that his normal self is not any different from his angry self.

Halfway up the rock is a hanging shelter we were to climb. Can you see it? Another gulp.
Except, his average words per minute dropped to two. When the driver dropped us off the ticket booth, I felt like I was on my own. With an escort who made himself useful as a photographer. After paying a hefty amount of $30 each for admission, we hurriedly scuttled after pilgrims hoping they'd lead us up the summit.

Not for the faint hearted. Final ascent to the famous ancient paintings is through a dizzying spiral staircase.
We passed through entryways between massive boulders, staircase after staircase. The climb was surprisingly uncomplicated, though could be a challenge for someone afraid of heights. And someone with a fear of dodgy, rusty structures that cling onto a vertical rock wall. 

About to step on a platform built in God-knows-when century.   My legs wobbled as I took each step up. We reached the viewing platform for the paintings within minutes, and waited for a crowd of locals to move over. A few little rascals jokingly jumped about and the hanging metal floor beneath our feet shook as if there was a magnitude 5 earthquake. Hubby merely shrugged.

Lion's Rock is famed for these.   The beautiful fifth-century paintings are survivors of a humongous set of frescoes that once covered about 140 meters wide and 40 meters high of the rock's western face. For what purpose, I really don't know. I can only imagine how breathtaking this immense gallery was. And the artists' suicidal tendencies. These were painted during the reign of King Kassapa, and believed to have been wiped out (at least not entirely) when the old palace was converted into a Buddhist monastery so as not to disturb the monks' meditation.

Passing by the "Mirror Wall".

Since there weren't much of them to gawk at (and because we were scared for our lives), we left the rowdy youth behind and pushed on. Down the spiral staircase we went and through a cliff side corridor that passes by the Mirror Wall. It's named so for its highly polished porcelain surface that resembles a mirror. On it are verses dating from the sixth to the fourteenth century, engraved by various visitors. Wait, 'verses' sound too poetic, when actually some of the inscriptions are mere comments about the frescoes. Think of it as some ancient Facebook wall.

Took a photo of this not realizing it's actually part of a pair. Otherwise I would have asked for a shot in between paws, like this one below.

Mostly inebriated in his travels, yet Ron of fliptravels.com does his research well. Unlike highly caffeinated me. Or was it the guide that spoonfed him the info?
Final stretch of ascent is through another set of rusty staircases. The solitary entrance of which, except if you go all Spiderman, is through the ruins of a colossal brick structure shaped as a lion. The Lion Staircase is one of Sigiriya's most prominent features. And from here it only takes less than ten minutes more to the summit. Could be longer due to human traffic.

Palace ruins, and the view of the surrounding plains.   The ruins require one's flamboyant imagination, cause unfortunately, what's left are just base structures of the palace complex. No pillars, let alone ceilings... But enough to impress. Enough to show the brilliant masonry of its ancient civilization.


Taking it all in.
After roaming the whole expanse of the plateau, north to south, we sat to take it all in. It was then that we fully realized how grandiose of a project Sigiriya was during its time. The hubby's dark mood wore off, didn't really last anyway.  Everything's happy and shiny again. Until we envisioned the terrifying vista on the way down...

 

 ... And the hornets as big as our then newborn Luna, as this sign illustrates.

Not-So Refreshingly Sri Lanka (and it's all my fault) Series:

Photo Essay: Golden Temple of Dambulla, Sri Lanka
Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka: Ruins Of An Ancient Capital
Temple of The Tooth
The Kandy House
Not-So Refreshingly Sri Lanka
How To Apply For A Sri Lanka Tourist Visa In The Philippines

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