Set off at 7:30 again, unfortunately drizzling, decided to see the caves at Dambulla first, need good weather to hike up Sigiriya Rock, a UNESCO site, and be able to appreciate the view.
This time the sites are near by and can use a tuk
tuk (US 25 for the day) to get there. Dambulla caves were actually 5
rooms built under a huge slap of overhang rock. A long flight of steps
to get there and the setting is lovely.
Building of the caves
started on 1BC but statues and mural paintings have been added and
refreshed/repainted throughout the years. The atmosphere of being in a
gigantic semi cave is equally interesting to me as the many impressive statues and
paintings.
Luckily the sun comes out and we go to Sigiriya Rock.
From a distance, it is a stunning rounded rock and hard to guess what is
there at the top.
Built around 5AD as the palace of the king, on this special rock formation and the surrounding land. A large scale water garden was created for pleasure/ storage, and for channeling water down from the hills to farmland further away.
On the way up,
there are a lot of boulders around, the construction is such that brick
walls were built incorporating the stones. Many flights of stairs lead
the way up to the top, where series of terraces spread in all
directions, and baths/ water storage tanks at various locations.
It is an impossible to describe the view, impossible to expect such large scale construction work being done at the top of a giant rock. It reminded me the feeling of hiked up to the top and saw Machu Picchu, how the extensive view spread out in front of the eyes!
Another flights of stairs from mid way lead to a series of mural painting on a series of rock surfaces. Hard to understand why would the king want to do such an installation!
After wandering around, up and down many steps, for 3 hours we are totally satisfied with this visit, and our legs are sore.
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