The bus from Kandy to Dambulla took 2 1/2 hours and cost 75 cents each. A quick tuk tuk to our guest house cost another $5 and we had arrived in the historical village of Sigiriya. Most tourists head there to climb Sigiriya Rock ($30 per person) and a steep, 3 hour round trip. We chose to climb Pidurangala Rock for $3.30 each, a more rigorous climb but only 45 minutes to summit. We arrived at the top for an early morning misty view.
Almost to the summit is a large reclining Buddha in a cave. Travel Tip for ladies: you can wear shorts for this hot and humid climb, just remember a sarong to wear for the two sacred sights on the way.
We rented a scooter for $10 and had a rainy day adventure starting with a trip back to Dambulla to see the Dambulla Cave Temple.
We saw lots of monkeys on the stone staircases leading through the jungle towards the actual cave temple. One quick monkey stole the entire bunch of flowers I was carrying.
Travel Tip: make sure you buy your tickets at the entrance! We didn’t see any signs until we had climbed many stairs in the rain only to discover as non-Sri Lankans we’d have to return to the bottom for our tickets to see the cave temple. So we didn’t see the cave temple after all.
We enjoyed the many sights to see by scooter including plenty of elephants, even wild ones! Sigiriya was a quiet town with plenty of wildlife and lonely roads through rice paddies and jungles. The food was great and guesthouses were affordable. A great area to explore in Sri Lanka!
I like the smell of elephants. So very glad you take us with you. thanks
Awesome adventure!