Category Archives: Sri Lanka

Blogs of my trips to Sri Lanka

Day Seven – Trip to Kataragama

Saturday 6 Feb 2016

We woke up in the morning at Tissa to the sounds of peacocks and other animals in the background.  The place we were staying at Tissa seemed like it was in the middle of the jungle.  It was a beautiful setting.

View from balcony outside room
View from hotel

After breakfast, we packed and were ready for our short trip to Kataragama.  Kataragama is a remote religious town that is sacred to the Buddhists,Hindus and Muslims.  Pilgrims come from all over Sri Lanka and beyond.  The shrines are dedicated to the god Kataragama.

Pilgrims on the way to the temple washing themselves in the river nearby
Main entrance into religious precinct
The monkeys in the area seem quite at home

The monkeys in the precinct area are quite tame and fed by the pilgrims.  We go past a mosque and a Shiva shrine.  A short distance later we come to the Maha Devale, the main shrine for Kataragama.

Maha Devale
Priest entering the Maha Devale for morning Pooja

Beyond Maha Devale, about 500m down the road is the Buddhist shrine, Kiri Vihara.

On the way to Kiri Vihara
Kiri Vihara

There were elephants with the mahouts along the roadway leading up to Kiri Vihara.  The pilgrims seek blessing from the elephants.

Elephant with her mahout
Majestic male elephant

Looking down the roadway filled with pilgrims from Kiri Vihara
Pilgrim going underneath elephant to seek blessing
The classic pose

After about 3 hours or so at Kataragama, we were back in our van on our way to our next overnight stop in Mirissa.  Mirissa is on the south coast of Sri Lanka and the area is unspoilt.

Beach outside hotel in Mirissa
View from front courtyard of hotel
View from balcony outside room

We lazed around for much of the afternoon.  Some of us went for a refreshing swim.

Day Six – Trip to Yala National Park

Friday 5 Feb 2016

We got up early today to check out the lively scene on the beach.  Fisherman had been fishing all night and have been gathering here to sell their fish on the beach.  There was an auction market on the beach for the day’s catch.  Fish here is quite cheap.

Dawn at Arugam Bay
Looking down the beach at Arugam Bay
Fishermen at Arugam Bay
Dawn waves crashing at Arugam Bay
Traditional fishing boat
Waiting for sunrise at Arugam Bay
Sunrise at Arugam Bay

Fisherman gathering their daily catch for auction
Not what you normally see

After breakfast we were on the road again to Tissamaharama or Tissa for short.  After a 2.5 hour drive we arrived at Tissa.  We checked into a lodge set in the middle of what seemed like a forest.  It was a very peaceful setting with sounds of animals in the background.  We had lunch and were booked to go on a safari to Yala National Park.

We were all in a 9 seater 4WD.  The trip to Yala from the lodge was about an hours drive.  We did not expect to see elephants here but among the other varied wildlife, a leopard sighting is prized.

Monkey on approach to Yala (Tufted gray langur)
Birds at a wetland (Gray Heron and Black Headed Ibis)
Lesser Adjutant?
Crocodile on the banks of a pond

Day Five – Trip to Arugam Bay

Thursday 4 Feb 2016

We are having a late start today from Batticaloa.  It was a late finish last night.  Therefore the morning was more relaxed.  Charles needed to see a doctor as he had swollen feet.  He was taken to see one after breakfast.  The rest of us just lazed around until about 11:30am.  We all had a big breakfast and therefore decided to drive straight to Arugam Bay and skip lunch.

Batticaloa hosts the Eastern University.  The town is made up mainly Tamil speaking people of Hindu and Muslim background.  The Sinhalese were here at some stage but they left probably during the war years.  Batticaloa is set back from the sea by a lagoon.  I would not say the town is pretty.  It has plenty of small shops.

Sunrise in Batticaloa

Batticaloa to Arugam Bay is about a 2 hour drive along the coastal.  It should be picturesque.  We got to our hotel  at Arugam Bay about 3pm.  The view from our hotel was spectacular.  We all had ground floor rooms.  The rooms were smaller but adequate.

View down the coast at Arugam Bay

Arugam Bay was badly affected by the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.  It almost in a direct line of sight to Aceh in Indonesia where the Tsunami orginated.  15 to 20m waves hit the coast and reportedly travelled up to 3km inland.  Apparently, at first the waters receded towards the ocean and then the waves hit.  This happened multiple times.  The 3rd instalment was the biggest and most damaging.  The owner of the hotel next door said he ran for his life after the sea receded the first time.  He felt it was eerily unusual and that he should not hang around.  The sad part is that none of the aid money or government money filtered here.  The owner of the hotel next door had to take out a bank loan to repair his hotel.

That evening we went to a ‘speakeasy’ to have a few beers. Today is Sri Lanka’s National Day.  Shops are not meant to serve alcohol.  We then went down the road to a restaurant by the road.  It was a basic restaurant and floor was just beach sand.  Logan took control and ordered items that were not listed on the menu.  The owner aimed to please us and put on quite a good spread.

 

Day Four – Visit to the cultural belt of Sri Lanka

Wednesday 3 Feb 2016

Today we are making our way to Sigiriya Rock and Polannaruwa.  Sigiriya Rock used to be a palace and I visited this place the last time I was in Sri Lanka in 2013. Polannaruwa is an ancient capital city that was abandoned in the 13th century.  It was variously ruled by Sinhalese dynasty and also by the Colas from South India who invaded much of the northern part of Sri Lanka.

We arrived at Sigiriya Rock at 9am.  There were already plenty of tourists there.  It is a public holiday in Sri Lanka today (Sri Lankan National Day) and also with Chinese New Year around the corner, there were plenty of Chinese tourists.  The crowds here unfortunately does not allow you to fully appreciate this place.  When I came here 3 years ago, there were hardly any tourists and therefore Charles and I had an enjoyable and leisurely experience.  We took great pictures (Visit to Sigiriya Rock in 2013).

Sigiriya Rock

Only 4 of us were doing the climb today, Vasantha, Shantini, Susie and myself. I am acting as the proxy guide. Being a hot and humid day, we all carried our water bottles.  Climbing up the rock was a tricky affair.  There was pushing and shoving with Chinese tourists which does not make the experience pleasurable.  We made plenty of stops to take in the site.  The path to the middle section was a slow journey.  At the fresco wall, no photography was allowed.  I suppose it is because of the crowd.  I managed to get some non-flash pictures the last time.

We reached the top in about 90 minutes.  We examined the area on top, which was the winter palace area. The summer palace area was at the foot of the rock.

Susie, Vasantha & Shantini on top of Sigiriya Rock

We made it down from the top in 30 minutes.  We were feeling the heat and humidity by now.  We were picked up again by the rest of the group and headed for lunch.

After lunch we made our way to the ancient city of Polannaruwa.  It is the second most ancient city and was an ancient capital (1070AD).  This site is quite extensive and sits besides a huge man-made reservoir.  The reservoir resembles a lake and there are several of them in central Sri Lanka.  The ancient kings valued agriculture and therefore made sure the country’s farmland is sufficiently irrigated.  The amazing thing is that these ancient reservoirs and irrigation channels are still being used today.

We visited the site museum to fully appreciate this ancient site.  We were then taken to a place called the Citadel.  This is where the palace and central administration area of the kingdom was.

Palace at the Citadel
Front view of palace at the Citadel
Inside wall of palace
Inner corridor of palace
The palace
Council Chamber
Wall carving on Council Chamber
More wall carving on Council Chamber
Closeup of elephant wall carving
Steps leading up to Council Chamber
Carved pillars once supported a roof structure in Council Chamber
Carvings on side of main stairs to Council Chamber
Ruins from the sacred Quadrangle
Hatadage – with Buddha statue
Carving inside Hatadage
View into chamber in Hatadage from outside window
The Vatadage
Buddha inside The Vatadage – there are 4 Buddhas facing in the 4 directions
Sitting Buddha from Gal Vihara
Standing Buddha from Gal Vihara
Sleeping Buddha from Gal Vihara
The local wildlife
More of the monkeys outside Gal Vihara

Our final stopover was a Boy’s Home in Batticaloa.  Most of the boys have lost their parents for various reasons.  There are about 30 boys ranging from 6 to 19.  The town of Batticaloa had some bad luck ranging from the war to tsunami.  Most of the boys are the casualties of some more recent calamity.  There is a sad story in every corner of this town.

Shantini performing for an eager audience at the Boys Home
There was a varied audience

Day Three – On the way to Habarana

Tuesday 2 Feb 2016

It’s going to be a long day on the road today.  We were picked up at 7:30am so that we could miss the traffic.  Not sure if it helped.  It is mayhem here with tuk-tuks, buses, trucks and cars moving around.  We got to an eating place out of town for breakfast.  It was a surprisingly good place with a good selection of food.

Our first stop was the spice gardens.  Various spices and herbs are grown at this place.  Sri Lanka is well known for their spices and it is one of the reasons why over several hundred years there was a procession of European powers who invaded the country.  The main business at the Spice Garden is to produce Ayuvedic medicinal products.  We were shown the vanilla creeper and how they produce vanilla essence, cinnamon tree (apparently the lighter coloured cinnamon bark is the good stuff), nutmeg tree (intake of a reasonable quantity could prove fatal), cocoa tree and others I fail to remember now.

Spice Gardens

I bought some Ayuvedic products.  Some tablets that are meant to reduce cholesterol for myself and an oil product for arthritis which Dianne might find helpful.  They are not cheap but they are all natural products.

Next stop is the Minneriya Elephant Sanctuary.  We picked up our 4WD and driver just outside the park. Four of us were in one vehicle and 3 in the other.  Off we went on our elephant safari.

Lone elephant in the clearing greeted us
It was feeding time

Elephants Feeding

Most elephants were feeding in family groups.  They are noisy eaters.  They seem to move from area to area on an eating spree.  Occasionally we saw some baby elephants including one that was 5 days old.  It was well protected by the family and hence we did not get a good view.

The sanctuary is made up of 3 connecting parks. The elephants often cross the main highway to go from one park to the other.  We were taken to another park.

Charles, Vasantha and Logan in their 4WD with their guide Driver and guide intently looking at the elephant herd.

Driver and guide intently looking at the elephant herd.  Some judgement and decision making is required here not to spook or disturb the elephants.

Pair of elephants walking through the grass
Kanahila on the warpath
Kanahila heading for our 4WD

We came across a female elephant called Kanahila who was not pleased with our presence. Truth be told, there were a lot of noisy 4WDs in their domain with tourists.  It must be annoying for them.  This elephant came charging straight for us but seemed like she singled me out to take the fall.

The guide made noises and threw water at it to calm it down.  Kanihila in the local language means ‘torn ear’.  All the guides and rangers knew her and her behaviour well.

Kanhila on the charge.
Kanahila not happy and holding her ground.

Later Kanahila charged our other 4WD and had it pinned against a tree.  There was no way for the 4WD to move.  It finally relented and an escape was capitalised.

The herd moved and blocked our exit from the park.  There were several 4WDs.  A park ranger came onto our vehicle and managed to clear a path for us to leave the park.  He was very experienced and knew how to handle the elephants.  He later told us that Kanahila lost her alf in a vehicle accident about 10 years ago.  This accounted for her aggressive behaviour.  Apparently the females are the more aggressive ones.  I could have told them that without visiting an elephant sanctuary.

Our standoff with the elephant herd took a while.  It was getting dark.  One of the other 4WD vehicles had a flat tyre.  Apparently the custom is that all 4WDs must stop and help and make sure that no one is left behind.  It is good to see them work together even though they come from different companies.

Dusk at the park

We checked into a motel type accomodation called Asnara Hotel.  It is a comfortable place with a very green setting. The food was good.

Day Two – In Colombo

Monday 1 Feb 2016 

We had a good nights rest though I did not sleep for long.  At 6am in the morning the tooting of the traffic horn had started.  Jagath came to pick us up at 10:30am.

Outside the Apartment in Colombo
The Rockwood Apartments in Colombo

Our apartment is reasonably comfortable.  It is on the 6th floor and there is access to the rooftop.  It has 3 bedrooms with double single beds.  It has basic amenities with air-conditioning (very important).  I booked the apartment through AirBnB.

Sangaran and I have an appointment with our lawyers in Colombo this morning on a private matter.  The rest of the group went to visit an old Dutch church in Colombo.  Jagath dropped Sangaran and myself at the lawyer’s office. We were picked up later for lunch with the rest of the group at the Green Room for some local food.  We retreated back to the apartment to avoid the afternoon Colombo traffic.  The driver and the guide wanted to retire for the day before they got stuck in traffic.  There was going to be plenty of driving tomorrow.

Sangaran and I were having dinner with our friend Faizer in Colombo.   Dinner was at a hotel in the city.  Charles was coming with us.  We decided to walk to our appointment.  It was about 4.5km walk. The walk took us about 1.5 hours.  I used the GPS on my phone to get to our destination.  Needless to say it drained the battery towards the end.

It was a great way to see Colombo.  Although it was cooler, it was a humid night.  We left at 6pm and arrived at our destination at 7:30pm on the dot for our dinner appointment.

Uga House – An exclusive hotel in Colombo
Colombo Coroners Court – Moorish Architecture
Colombo City Hall

Day One – Flight to Sri Lanka

Sunday 31 Jan 2016

At Sydney Airport

The  flight into Singapore was great.  We were fed well by SIA.  The flight wasn’t full so there was plenty of room to stretch.  I watched 3 movies; Spectre, The Intern and the Man from UNCLE.  We had a 3 hour layover in Singapore before our connecting flight to Colombo.  Logan and Vasantha joined us in Singapore for the flight to Colombo.  Charles and I met them in the transit area.

We got into Colombo at 12:10am and then into our apartment at the Rockwood Apartments at 2:30am. We had to drop of Logan and Vasantha at their hotel, Sea View Hotel first.  We were tired but it took a while before we got to bed.  Susie had got up to greet us.  In the morning we will be picked up by our guide Jagath for a tour of Colombo.  Sangaran and I have a separate appointment at noon.

Sri Lanka 2016

I am about to embark on another trip to Sri Lanka.  This trip is from 31st Jan to 17th Feb.  On this occasion I have organised a group of 7, Charles (Sydney), cousin Sangaran (Malaysia), cousin Susie (Malaysia), Shantini (Malaysia), Logan and Vasantha (Singapore).  For the first week I have organised a tour that is largely in the South-Eastern part of Sri Lanka.  We will go as far as Batticaloa on the East of the island.  I will be using my previous tour guide, Jagath Kumara, who has since my last trip in 2013, taken a number of friends and relatives on tours based on my recommendation.  Jagath will be meeting us at the airport.  The flight from KL lands in Colombo at 10pm and the flight from Singapore at 11:55pm.  Charles and I will be joined by Logan and Vasantha in Singapore.

For the second week we will be travelling by train to Jaffna.  The trains are running again and this should be interesting.  I have organised a van in Jaffna to take us on tours there and beyond.  I am really looking forward to seeing the changes that have taken place in Jaffna since my last trip 3 years ago.  More importantly, an even larger gathering of relatives and friends await us in Jaffna.  There is  huge religious festival at a temple (consecration) on our ancestral island.  There will be a gathering of relatives from all parts of the world.

Our road trip on the first week will take us to Batticaloa where we will stop for 2 days.  On the way we will stop at historical sites like Dumbulla (rock caves), Sigiriya Rock and maybe a wildlife sanctuary.  Then down the east coast, hopefully to Arugam Bay (surfing mecca) and then inland to the famous temple at Kataragama and also to Yala National Park.  Following that we will be travelling along the southern coast to Galle and then back to Colombo on the 7th of Feb.  We will leave the following day by train to Jaffna.  We will be back in Colombo on the 15th.  Again we hope to cover plenty of historical and cultural sites in Jaffna.

Day Seventeen – The climb to Adam’s Peak

 

17 April 2013

Adam’s Peak, or known in Sinhalese as Sri Pada (butterfly mountain) or in Tamil as Sivanolipatha Malai is 2,243m high and situated slightly off center in the south-west of Sri Lanka.  It is a holy site for many religions; for the Buddhist, it contains the sacred footprint of the Buddha, for the Hindus it is that of Lord Shiva and for the Muslims and Christians, it is that of Adam or that of St. Thomas.

We got up at 12:30am and left soon after a wash-up.  We packed water, some snacks and a jacket as we were told it would get cold up there.  All through the night, pilgrims have been making the climb.  Thus even at 12:30am, the path to Adam’s Peak had plenty of people.  It is just after the Buddhist/Hindu New Year and the Buddhists make this pilgrimage annually.  We will soon discover that it is not the best time for us to venture to this peak.

The initial part is a gentle climb.  Steps were well spaced with flat and wide paths in between.  There were shops selling food and drinks on either side of the path initially.  The shops were brightly lit.  The path to Adam’s Peak is also lit with street lamps.  Standing below, you could see the path snaking it’s way to the peak.1380a

Charles had been following a few paces behind me.  I have checking to see if he is alright.  At about 2 am, he wanted a break to have a rest.  He told me to go on ahead as he might just walk a bit further up and turn back to return to the hotel.  I told him that I will meet him back at the hotel and proceeded, leaving Charles seated on some benches.1381a

I picked up the pace in the hope of reaching the summit before sunrise.  The initial part of the climb did not have many people and I was very optimistic about reaching the top before sunrise.  All that optimism came to an abrupt end about 400-500 m from the top.  The path up had been getting narrower and narrower.  Suddenly, the density of people was increasing.  There were old men, old women, mothers carrying their babies in their arms and fathers carrying toddlers on their shoulders.  They were all here.  I was wearing my walking shoes for good support.  The pilgrims around me were bare footed or wearing thongs!

Near the top and before sunrise, it was cold.  Whereas previously I was walking a brisk pace and therefore my body heat was keeping me warm, when I came to a stop near the top in a human traffic jam, I started getting cold.  I had to put on my jacket.

I witnessed sunrise at about 400 m from the peak.  It was quite spectacular.  We we were above the clouds.1384a

Everybody on the path stopped to witness the sunrise.  It is almost like a ritual.1385a

I could see mountain peaks breaking above the clouds.  Everything here looks peaceful and serene.  For a moment I forgot that I was in a human traffic jam.1391a 1393a

Near the top, the steps up is divided into two; you keep right, going up or coming down.  The middle is divided by handrails.  There are handrails along the side too.  This is assuring.  Some have decided to jump the queue by using the sometimes empty path for those coming down to go up.  I don’t blame them.  It had been a long wait.1395a

When I got to the top, I soon realised why I was stuck in a 4-hour human traffic jam.  The guard at the entrance to the top gestured me to remove my shoes.  I moved to the side and removed my shoes and put it into my backpack.  I pulled out my sarong to wear it and come up to acceptable dress code.

The top of Adam’s Peak is about the size of a basketball court or slightly bigger.  The building in the middle housed the Buddhist and Hindu temples.  There were pilgrims queuing up to get into the temples and make offerings of various sorts; usually flowers.  No photography is allowed here.  On the far side, there were people seated on the ground and having morning breakfast.  This made the area at the top congested and rather hard to navigate.  I was keen the get out of here.1396a On the way down, I can see all humanity still snaking it’s way up the slope.  Going down was just as congested now as coming up.  I went down quite a bit to find a clearing to put on my shoes.  I then called the guide on the mobile to say that I am on my way down.  This was now about 9 am.

1397a Since the sun is up , you can now really appreciate the surrounds and it’s beauty.  I found the climb down a bit tricky.  The steps are of uneven height and irregular from half way up or so.  Hence you tend to have your head down mapping out the path you would take coming down, allowing for irregular steps.  Every now and then I paused to take in the scenery.  The legs were tired too.

1399a Near the end of my climb down, I looked back at Adam’s Peak, glowing in the sunlight.  It is quite impressive.

1401a

The natives along the way didn’t seem too preturbed by the crowds.  The sheer rock faces along the way are quite impressive.

1402a

Near the bottom, I noticed a Buddhist temple which I had not seen on the way up as it was dark.1403a

I also went past several tea plantations on the way down.  The women were busy plucking tea leaves and placing them in baskets on their back with is suspended by a piece of cloth around the top of their head.  Not sure if this is comfortable by this techniques has been used for many years.1406a

I reached the hotel just before 10:30 am, to be greeted at the door by our guide Jagath (our guide/driver) and a hotel staffer.  I wanted to get into the restaurant to have a cool drink.  Jagath asked me about where Charles was.  This surprised me a bit but I said he must be in his room.  Jagath then informed me that he had not had his breakfast yet.  Now I got worried.  I immediately went up to the room to knock on the door.  I got no answer.  At this stage I assumed that he had come back, unloaded his things and gone for a walkabout town.  Just to confirm this, I went back and asked the desk for a spare key.  Jagath, a hotel staffer and myself went back to the room with a box of keys.  We tried all the keys but none will work.

I chanced upon a slightly open window in front and pulled it slightly open.  It was tied on the inside by a cord.  We managed to pull as much as possible to stretch the cord, untie it and open the window.  We entered the room to discover that Charles had not returned.  It is now more than 10 hours since we had set out.  Charles came on this trip without a mobile phone and therefore there was no way of contacting him.  On my part, panic set in.  I decided we need to make a police report.

I got rid of my shoes as it was getting hot and wore my thongs, grabbed Charles’ and my passports and headed downstairs to meet Jagath.  As we started walking through town,  Jagath told me that the police can be slow and before we go there we should backtrack to see if Charles was waiting for me somewhere.  At this stage my legs were aching but I had to make this trip back.  I could not face telling Sonya that her husband is missing!

Jagath and I walked back to the spot were I thought I left Charles.  It was dark when I left him.  We walked further and Jagath, noticing I was tired, made me wait for him at a spot where I could clearly see all the people coming down from Adam’s Peak.  Jagath went on ahead with Charles’ passport to see if he could track him down.  Jagath showed the passport to one of the guides on the track and was told that he had walked further up.  Jagath conveyed the message to me.  This is positive.

Mentally I was preparing myself while I was waiting.  We were due to fly out of Colombo that night for Singapore.  I mapped out what I needed to do if Charles was not found i.e. change flights, extend stay in hotel, phone calls, etc.

About an hour later, to my immense relieve, I spotted Charles.  I drew his attention and made him sit beside me.  I called Jagath to tell him that I had Charles.  Jagath said he was almost half way up and now started to make his way back.

Charles then informed me that he made it all the way to the top.  He went half way and then felt compelled to keep going after seeing the various pilgrims making their way up.  Jagath joined us about 30 mins later and we all made our way back to the hotel.  Charles soon realised the turmoil he had caused.

We had planned to leave Nallataniya for Colombo at 11:30 am.  We left at 3 pm.

Along the way, we witnessed a few waterfalls pouring into the river below.1407a

This one is called Aberdeen falls (nice local name!).1409a

Charles was going to buy dinner for all of us that night to placate us before going to the airport.  Unbeknownst to us, Jagath had planned with his wife to have dinner at his place.  This was really nice of him.  His home town Vidduka was on the way to Colombo, about 34 kms from Colombo.  We had a fantastic home cooked meal and met his wife and 10 year old daughter.  The family was warm and welcoming.

I was hoping to hit Colombo early to go to a shop called Barefoot, which had bright coloured textiles, including cushion covers and a great bookshop.  Unfortunately, we did not make it in time.  We went to another shop called Laksala where we bought various souvenirs.  This shop was open until 9 pm.  Then we headed to the airport for our trip out of Sri Lanka.

 

 

Day Sixteen – Sigiriya and Dambulla

16 April 2013

Sigiriya is a rock fortress and city located in the Matale District and is right in the middle of the cultural triangle formed by Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy (the last kingdom).  It stands 200m high and the whole complex was built in seven years by King Kasyapa (477 – 495 AD).  After the death of Kasyapa, it was a monastery complex up to the 14th century.  After this, it was abandoned until the discovery of the ruins in 1907 by British Explorer, John Still.

We got up early to get to the Sigiriya rock. We arrived at the site at 6:30am. The gates opened at 7am. We looked around the area and viewed the beauty of the rock in the morning sun. The rock had about 1055 steps to the top. It was declared a world heritage site in 1982. UNESCO had been sponsoring some restoration work.20130419-074002.jpg

Inscriptions in the caves suggest that the rock was used as a religious place from the 3rd century BC. As you are proceeding towards the rock itself, you will observe structures built on either side of the walkway in a symmetrical fashion. The summer palace of the king was at ground level and the winter palace was on top of the rock.20130419-074718.jpg

After we pass the outer and inner moat (the latter used to have a drawbridge at the entry) we are welcomed into the water garden. The pond on one side has been restored but the pond on the left side is still underground, awaiting restoration. This then leads through the fountain garden, which contained narrow rectangular ponds (see above).  There are four fountains, two on either side.  The limestone slab (see below), has large holes in the limestone slab.20130419-075104.jpg

The whole system of water features is driven by water sourced from the top of the rock and passed down to the ground level by a system of channels. The fountain itself is run by only water pressure within these channels. During the rainy season, our guide tells us that there is enough water pressure within these channels to make these fountains function, even today! This system truly displays the engineering brilliance of the ancient Sri Lankans

After the fountain garden, the path takes us past the summer palace. Nothing stands today except for the foundation stones around the perimeter. The ancient buildings for the summer palace would have been made of wood.20130419-143538.jpg

Then we proceeded up a few steps and through the first of two boulder archway that is formed by two rocks resting on each other.20130419-075813.jpg

The steps that lead up to the top are made of marble. The idea behind this is that at night the marble will glow under the moonlight and thus provides natural illumination.20130419-144028.jpg

Just on one side of the rock archway is a very faint outline of a fresco that had been almost erased by the weather.20130419-144300.jpg

There were more steps that lead us to the rock face. On the right hand side just before the rock face is the Audience Hall.

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The picture below shows the ascent from the Audience Hall level.20130419-145017.jpg

At the rock face, a series of metal staircases that are attached to the rock lead us up to the ancient walkways along the rock face. The original ancient system of staircases here have collapsed over time.20130419-145608.jpg

The walkway along the face of the rock lead us to spiral metal staircase which we climbed to enter a cave that had well preserved frescoes. No flash photography was allowed here to preserve these surviving ancient frescoes.20130419-145640.jpgAn Apsara or a Sigiriya damsel with her associate (above).

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20130419-145757.jpgAn Apsara and her associate to the left (above).  A second Apsara is below.

The artist in those days sometimes made mistakes. The woman on the right has only four fingers in one hand. The women painted on these walls are of various descent. Some are Indian, some are African and some are Arab. It showed that Sri Lanka was visited by people from various lands. The frescoes were painted by a mixture of sand, beeswax, honey, natural plant dye to name a few constituents that I could remember.

Then we proceeded to along a walkway that gave us a good view of the summer place area below.20130419-150524.jpg

The walkway on one side had a wall. In ancient times it was known as Kedapath Pavura or the Sigiriya Mirror Wall. This is because the wall was made of brick masonry and has a polished plaster finish. The wall reflected the frescoes painted on the rock face. Thus anybody walking along this walkway had images on either side to view.  There are some ancient graffiti written on this wall.20130419-150901.jpg

Going further along the walkway, we went up a set of restored stairs to the next level. To the left of us was what was once the guard house where soldiers overlooked the area below for approaching enemies.20130419-203409.jpg

At the far end of the guard house, there is a huge boulder resting on some short rock columns. The boulder is a rock missile that is used to launch towards approaching enemy soldiers. Obviously it is a use once system with no reload mechanism!20130419-203648.jpg

Further along a walkway and up some more stairs, we come to a flat area with an entrance way that opens between two lion’s paws that have been carved out of rock. It originally is thought to have had a lion’s head with the lion’s mouth (a recumbent pose) being the entrance way to the next level. This structure is believed to have collapsed over time.20130419-204306.jpg

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Through the lion’s paws and up a set of steel steps built into the rock, we were nearing the top.  The view on the way up here is quite spectacular.  We could see the route we had taken below.1316a

Coming up to this stage, Charles was getting tired and his legs were seizing up.  We had frequent breaks and fortunately, Charles brought his personal masseur on this trip.1320a

We climbed further on a combination of original marble stairs and steel staircases which lead us to a flat pathway.1322a

A few short steps later, we were at the top.1324a

The two limestone slabs represent the highest point on Sigiriya Rock.  In ancient times, this flat area had the two level winter palace.  The limestone slabs mark the spot where the stairs led to the 2nd level of the winter palace.1327a

We conquered Sigiriya Rock!  Looking at the top of this rock platform from various angles truly brought out the serenity of this place.1332a1334a

The way back down was just as interesting as the way up. There was an ancient pond made out of brick at the top (below).  I guess that rainwater was collected here and water channels fed water to the levels below including the fountains.1336a

While on the way down but still at the top area, we came a across a flat terrace with a huge flat limestone slab in one corner (below).  The king sat here while watching about 500 damsels dance and entertain him on the terrace in front.  The square holes in the ground would have contained wooden posts that supported a canopy that provided shade for the king.1337a

The performance area is reasonably large and would have been decorated in full colour.1338a

Going further on the way down, we come across the Audience Hall which we passed on the way up.  This is where the king received his subjects.  The surface is a flattened out rock with a stone seat that has been carved out of a rock boulder.  This place again had holes in the rock that had wooden posts to support some sort of canopy.1341a

To the side other side of the Audience Hall, in the rock face itself, is a cave with a drip ledge that was used by Buddhist monks for meditation in ancient times.  It was carved out of rock.  During the king’s rein, he took respite here from sessions he had at the Audience Hall.  The cave provided a natural shelter.  There is a stone seat for the king in this cave.  The layers of painting and a few graffiti in this cave dates back to 8 – 9 century AD.1343a

We proceed past this cave and through the 2nd boulder archway.1345a

The path then leads us past the Cobra Head Cave, known because the natural shape resembles a cobra head.  The cave had been used by Buddhist monks between the 3rd and 1st century BC.1346a

We made our way back to our car and back to the hotel.  We cleaned up, packed our bags to make a short trip to Dambulla.

Dambulla has 5 cave temples that had been cut out of an enormous granite outcrop that rises to about 160m.  The path to the temple is quite scenic.  The cave temples date back to about 100 BC.1354a

It was a hot day.  The monkeys along the path to the caves were having (a well earned) afternoon snooze.1351a 1352a

We reached the temple entrance after about a 30 min walk.  I donned my sarong (shorts above knee high not acceptable dress code).  To the right of us was the first cave.  Next door to it is a small chapel dedicated to Kataragama (Hindu Murugan).1356a

We went through all the caves.  These are places of worship and I made it a point not to use flash photography.1358a 1362a 1360a

The entrance ways to the caves look like they were built in the 1920s or so.1368a

There is a bell tower near the entrance.1370a

After Dambulla, we had a longer trip of about 4 hours to Nallataniya (aka Delhousie).  This is the gateway town to Adam’s Peak, which we were going to attempt during the night.  On the way to Nallataniya, we passed by Matale, the childhood town of Vijaya who was with us in Jaffna.  I promised to take some photos of the town for her.1371a 1372a 1373a 1374a 1375a 1376a 1377a 1378a

Nallataniya town was packed.  There were thousands of people around and the shops were brightly lit.  These people were mostly pilgrims, who were about to do their New Year’s pilgrimage up to the peak, which has a Buddhist and Hindu temple.

We checked ourselves into the Punsisi Rest House.  Although the room was smallish, it was comfortable.  The staff were polite, friendly and helpful.  We had a quick dinner at the restaurant here before turning in for a short sleep.  One of the staff members recommended that we start our climb at 12:30 am instead of our original intention of 1:30 am.  He advised that since there were a lot of people going to climb to the peak, it is best to start earlier.  Charles was feeling a bit weary from today.  He had earlier said that he might not attempt Adam’s Peak, with it’s over 5000 steps to the peak.  But in the evening he decided to go part of the way.  With that, we turned in for a good, short rest of about 4 hours!