Sigiriya

First stop of the holiday trip.

Our accommodation is simply amazing! In the middle of the jungle, an open tree house. With the manager's announcement: "If there's a rustling in the bushes, then stay in the tree house but be sure to check. It's probably an elephant."

In the evening the first little adventure. We were able to take a night walk through the thicket to spot lorikeets. Small monkeys, without tails - which is why they can't jump from tree to tree - with very big eyes, which means they can only be active at night. So we wandered through the dark night with red lamps on our heads, always looking for flashing red eyes. And we were successful! We were able to see at least 4 little monkeys.

The next morning we set off at 7am to Lion's Rock, a world heritage site. There we were allowed to climb a few steps to enjoy the most beautiful view when we reached the top. The mountain gets its name from its shape, which King Kassapa I had built. At the top were the palaces, with temple complexes and some ponds.

After we had completed the descent successfully and without injuries, we discovered a crocodile in the lake that lies at the foot of the mountain.

After a short nap we decided to go on a little safari. And how lucky we were! So many elephants, and always with offspring at their heels.

After such an eventful day, we just fell into bed exhausted. But not for long! The alarm clock rang at 4:30 a.m. because today we wanted to climb Pidurangala Mountain before sunrise. And suddenly: a rustling in the bushes next to our tree house! It had to be something big, unfortunately it was too dark to see anything between the trees. But the manager, who wished us good luck on the journey, assured us that it was definitely a very large elephant. Today's climb was almost even more strenuous, as there were higher steps without breaks in between and the last few meters even had to be climbed properly. Nevertheless, we managed to watch the sunrise.

Now it's time to pack your things and take a taxi to Kandy. We share the trip with a couple from Belgium.

We'll report more tomorrow!