Are you considering spending 2 days in Sigiriya and want to know what we got up to during our stay there? Even though the main attraction here is the Lion Rock, I recommend you hike up a different rock – which one? Read below!
We booked Sigiriya Hotel for two nights and were extremely happy with our choice. Sigiriya was our last destination in Sri Lanka, so we decided to book a place where we could swim after hiking and really enjoy the surroundings.
The rooms here were spacious, the bathroom modern and the AC worked like magic. The breakfast and dinner were delicious and the choice of food was huge. The hotel even comes complete with a natural alarm clock – monkeys jumping on the roof making sure you wake up for the hike!
It wasn't until we've seen the crowds with our own eyes that we made a final decision not to walk up Lion Rock and instead only hike on top of Pidurangula Rock. Another good thing about this choice is that it costs about 10x less to hike Pidurangula! On the photo below you'll see Lion Rock, and the hill on the right is Pidurangula.
Lion Rock and Pidurangula Rock.
We walked from the hotel and all the way up to Pidurangula. It took us about an hour or two and we passed an archeological site as well, which is actually totally unmarked on Google maps. Not too sure what the building remains were, but it was totally empty and quite eerie walking around there.
Ancient stupa at an archelogical site near Pidurangula.
When hiking up Pidurangula you'll pass a Buddhist temple, so unless you want to borrow a piece of fabric by the entrance, make sure you bring something with you for that minute you pass the temple. On your way up you'll see some monkeys, a reclining Buddha statue and great views of Lion Rock.
The hike in general is not tough, but the last bit is quite rocky and you might need a helping hand or two to get all the way up.
I hope you found this guide useful in your planning. If you want to see more posts from Sri Lanka, then just visit this destination page.