Conquering Sigiriya!!

I have been attending international schools in Sri Lanka for nearly eight years of my school life which resulted in me not being exposed to as much of my country’s remarkable history as I would have liked. This Christmas holiday, I challenged myself to climb to the highest point of the rock Sigiriya, a world heritage site atop which the palace of Sri Lanka’s ancient kings once stood. I once attempted it a couple of years ago but couldn’t brace myself to make it to the very top so I had to settle with going up two-thirds of the way.

What made the experience all the more memorable was that it wasn’t merely just physical exertion: it was an exposure to the ancient history of Sri Lanka that remains in the ruins of the majestic palace and its gardens. What amazed me was the complexity of the architecture that was used over 1500 years ago when it was first built to serve as a fortress for King Kashyapa. Two moats surrounded the perimeter of the site although only the inner one was still filled with water. I had to pass the boulder, water and terrace gardens to get to one of the entrances to the rock (there were three: the Lion entrance, the Snake entrance, the Elephant entrance). What I found fascinating was that there were rocks that were naturally shaped like a snake and an elephant that graced their respective entrances!

And then the climb began! Surprisingly I managed to spring up the steps without much difficulty (it was nowhere near as hard as I remembered!) and the view was magnificent with the forest spread out as far as I could see with a Buddha monument rising above the canopy. On the way up, I was able to admire the mirror wall, on which some ancient writing could still be seen, and the marble staircases that are said to be visible at night as they shine in the moonlight. The most nerve-wracking part of the climb was trying to make my way up the rickety spiral staircase to get to the famed frescoes, or at least what remains of them.

When I reached the lion’s paw terrace, which was where I stopped on my first climb, I was more than willing to take the final and most difficult steps to the top. Although the sight of the sheer drop straight underneath was enough to make most of the other visitors rather uneasy, I managed to make it with no panic attacks! All that remains of the palace are simply two bricks…everything else has eroded away. I somehow anticipated something much more spectacular but I wasn’t disappointed because I made it! The climb down went quite smoothly so I was back on the ground in no time, exhausted but a lot more aware of how proud I should be of Sri Lanka’s history.