So, I was reading Arab News several days ago and read their feature on Sri Lanka's National Day. Guess what I remembered? Uhhhh yes, my
Sri Lanka series is not yet done! It's February 2014 already, what are you waiting for Sundrenched?! Arghhhh! Anyway, here goes part 2 (
I hope you still remember part 1)...
"If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough."
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| The Sigiriya rock fortress |
How is that for a DREAM?!?
Ever since I started researching for our trip to
Sri Lanka, the
Sigiriya Lion Rock has been popping up without fail. I ignored it for a few times after reading a Filipino tourist's account on how hard scaling this rock mountain is. She thought she would die but she reached the top anyway. Her entry was littered with "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!" That's enough reason to ignore Sigiriya and omit it in our itinerary eh?
I've been apprehensive but then they say,
you haven't been to Sri Lanka unless you've conquered the Lion Rock. Who wants to feel that kind of regret when traveling to a new country? It became my dream to reach the top but how?! I was scared. I wasn't physically fit for this! But then again,
it is a UNESCO World Heritage site... how can I pass up this opportunity? It's not as if we'll be climbing it the mountaineer's way. It has stairs for goodness' sake! How hard can it be?! Uhrrmmm...
Sigiriya, known as the Lion Rock, is a massive column of rock where
King Kasyapa, the second king of the Moriyan dynasty, built his palace. The 200 meters high rock served as the stand for this palace and on a small plateau about halfway to the top, he built a gateway in the form of a huge lion. The site was abandoned after King Kasyapa died and it was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century.
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| The moat outside the palace complex |
The Sigiriya complex is the first order of our second day in Sri Lanka. Because of our
Dambulla experience the day before, we were doubtful if we can climb Sigiriya but we just encouraged ourselves. I told my travel buddy that we should still go to Sigiriya and just check the place out. If we feel like we couldn't really do it, then we wouldn't force ourselves. I mean seriously, have you seen that rock?! (Please refer to first photo again and answer me!!!)
When we got there, many tourists were already ahead of us. We bought the ticket which is divided into three parts: the museum, the Sigiriya complex, and the mirror wall located halfway to the top.
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| Sri Lanka's national flower |
We went to the museum first and I must say it was a bit of a waste of time. I was raring to climb the rock already. (Wow, where did I get the inspiration?!? Haha!) My friend and I realized we had to climb it because we were already there. Personally, I firmly believe in going out of my comfort zone once in a while.
So what the hell, let's do this!!!...
And then we met two
very fit British couple who were huffing and puffing and looked like they're ready to pass out. I think I wanted to back out! Wahahah! Seriously people, what if I die in the middle of Sigiriya?! That would be embarrassing! Not that I can still feel embarrassed when I'm already dead.
But obviously I lived after that ordeal and I'm now telling you the tale. Thank you, Lord.
The Sigiriya Palace complex is a huge piece of land that saw the splendor in its time. The grounds have terraced gardens embellished by canals and fountains which mirror each other. The lavish estate has faded with time but the Srilankans are keen in restoring the area bit by bit. For now, they have excavated half of the gardens. The other half they are leaving to the young generation to restore.
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| The landscaped gardens used to lie here. |
We had a guide who told us the history of Sigiriya and mind you, he helped us in every step of the way. I mean there were parts he had to literally hold me in my arms and drag me up with him. Haha! I wouldn't go so far into telling you all the information about Sigiriya just in case you decide you wanted to
die early in its steps visit the historic ruins. Here are the photos though:
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| Stairs, more stairs... |
We used the elephant gate to enter. I have no idea why we do not have a decent photo of the rock formation that looked like an elephant that's why it's called the elephant gate. A series of stairs carved fresh from the old ones serve as the way to the top. Some of the steps were too narrow for my huge feet I had to step sideways. I was already huffing and puffing when I got to the top of this staircase lol.
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| I have no idea how their ancestors went up here. |
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| The spiral stairs up to the mirror walls. |
One of the highlight of the granite rock is the
Mirror Wall that leads to the room where the
"The Maidens of the Clouds" are. The highly-acclaimed room features smooth light orange walls with fresco paintings of 21 non-identified female figures. This is almost halfway and I seriously wanted to collapse right beneath these paintings:
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| Vibrant hues, where did they get their 'paint'? |
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| Do not touch! |
After going up and down the spiral stairs with just a mesh to separate us from
our death the real world, we came to pass through the mirror wall corridor. It is said that during its heyday, the lime plaster of this wall is so smooth and highly-polished that it had reflected the paintings on the opposite rock wall. There are graffitis, poetry etched in the wall, that can still be seen today.
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| The ancient way to write graffiti |
The mirror wall leads to the halfway point which I call my "oasis"... my very own lifesaver. Because we got to stop, sit under the tree and rest for a while before tackling the Lion staircase. In here, we also get to take pictures where we appear to be fresh from a stroll in the park aka "fake it! poses". Haha!
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| Phew! Let's take a break please! PLEASE! |
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| We're not there yet. |
This used to have the huge lion face but with time, the rock wasn't able to weather the storm. You can still see the feet of the lion now flanking the stairs up.
