Diterbitake: 27.12.2016
6.15 am - The alarm clock rings. Today we want to go to the rock - the landmark of Sigiriya.
It's hard to believe, but a palace was built for the king up there 1600 years ago. Unfortunately, we currently have bad luck as the day starts rainy and foggy. From the hotel, you can usually see the rock very clearly.
A short time later, we drive the 5 minutes to the entrance. It is still drizzling lightly, but we take the risk and walk up with our guide. He shows us the water gardens and the fountain, which still works after such a long time. And all this without electricity and modern techniques. Really impressive.
The ascent is already very difficult as the steps are steep and a total of 1202 steps have to be climbed.
Since it is windless and raining, the air is very humid and breathing becomes harder after a short time.
After about halfway up, we reach the unimaginable, massive frescoes and cave paintings. The cloud maidens painted there (half-naked women with a wasp waist and incredible cleavage) are amazing! Unfortunately, it has been forbidden to take photos of them for 3 months now, as they are very sensitive.
Then we continue upwards. It starts to rain again, sometimes stronger, sometimes less. But we are well equipped with umbrellas, so it is a pleasant refreshment at these temperatures.
The view from the top is breathtaking despite the clouds and fog. You can see it in the pictures.
Beautiful!
And on the way, we discover some super cute monkeys (Don't they really look like us humans? Especially the hands!)