In the Central Province of Sri Lanka you will find, side-by-side, two massive rocks jutting out of an otherwise flat terrain. These rocks are Pidurangala Vihara, an ancient rock temple, and Sigiriya Lion Rock, an ancient fortress and UNESCO World Heritage Site. One weekend during my month-long volunteer trip to Sri Lanka, my friends and I hiked both.
Pidurangala to the left and Sigiriya to the right.
In the town of Sigiriya, there are many hotels, hostels, and homestays given the touristy nature of the area. We stayed at Sigiri Lion Lodge, an inexpensive but clean and comfortable hotel. The perks include air conditioning, the kindest staff imaginable, and a massive breakfast of fresh fruit, omelette, coffee, tea, toast, and more that will have you drooling. For other meals, I recommend the treehouse restaurant which is along the main road of the town– I can’t quite remember the name, but you can’t miss it. Try their kotthu and have a lion beer!
Pidurangala Rock is the perfect hike to begin with as it opens very early so you are able to climb it to watch the sunrise. It was such a beautiful experience. Everything was quiet, calm, and peaceful. Although there were a few other tourists around, I felt like I was the only person in the world. It costs 500 LKR (approx $4.50 CAD) to enter and you must have your legs and shoulders covered out of respect for the temple. It is an easy climb at first because there are stairs cut out of the rocks but once you reach the top you have to do a bit more scaling and rock climbing, so wear good footwear. Altogether the whole hike takes about 30-40 minutes.
I will never forget the feeling of sitting on that rock, the sun rising in front of me, Sigiriya Lion Rock looking tiny to my right, and nothing but vast wilderness sprawled out in every direction. It was definitely one of the most memorable moments of my trip. I suggest waiting until after the sun comes up to get all of your pictures–just be in that moment. No rush.
Later that day, we headed to Sigiriya Lion Rock. It is not possible to watch the sunrise from here because the park does not open until 7:00 am, so you might as well wait until later in the day. Consider yourself fairly warned: this place is an ultimate tourist zone. There will be men trying to peddle tuk tuk rides, the cost to enter is astronomical compared to other landmarks in the country at 5500 LKR (approx. $50 CAD), and it is bustling with locals and tourists alike. But don’t let this deter you from visiting, as it really is remarkable and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This hike is a little longer but it is all stairs so it isn’t too difficult.
On your way up, you may notice disconcerting signs warning you to be silent to avoid provoking the wasps…please obey them. There have been scary wasp attacks and swarms there and they will shut down the park if it happens. I was grateful to have only seen one wasp during the whole time we were there, but I could hear the mild buzzing all around us. It was horrifying. Anyway! About halfway up you will find the Lion Gate, a stairway with massive lion paws on either side. At the top is the ancient rock fortress once ruled by a king. It is pretty incredible that thousands of years ago people were able to build a rock fortress up there– there’s no clearly easy way to climb it without the stairs, let alone lug tons of materials and people without modern tools and machinery. Mindblowing.
People asked me which hike was my favorite. That is a really hard question because they are two totally different experiences. I would say that Pidurangala is for the soul; you get to soak in the sunrise, pay respects to Buddha, and peacefully enjoy your time there. Sigiriya is more educational and historical; you get to learn about a point in time in Sri Lanka and witness a unique piece of ancient history.
Have you been to Sri Lanka? What did you do there? Leave us a comment or tag us in your photos on social media, @twowildtides!
Check out other posts from my Sri Lanka Diaries:
- Mulgirigala Rock Temple
- Elephant Spotting in Uda Walawe National Park
- A Weekend in Ella
- A Night in Colombo
- Why I Chose to Volunteer with SLV
- Sri Lanka Video Diary
xoxo,
char
The trail is pretty much just sharp ascent and steep decline no matter which trailhead you start from. It’s definitely a killer workout for your legs– you will feel the burn. It also made me realize that no matter how much I hike, nothing is going to replace the cardio that I should be doing daily. The path takes you to Blackhead, which is the rocky bluff directly between the town of Blackhead and Cape Spear. The point offers gorgeous views of Cape Spear, which is the most Easterly point in North America, and Signal Hill, one of St. John’s most well-known landmarks.
There is nothing like walking along Newfoundland’s rocky, jagged coast. Its harshness is almost calming. I love the way the waves crash into the rocks and form the most beautiful shades of blue. The feeling that I get from spending time near the salt water is irreplaceable. Get yourself out on the East Coast Trail ASAP.
The coolest thing about this cruise? The artist was kept a total mystery. Nobody knew who they were coming to see. The suspense was thick in the air as I arrived at JAG Hotel for the opening reception (side note: I can’t say it enough– Jag is one of St. John’s’ coolest hotels hands-down. We had the pleasure of working with them a few months ago, 
After enjoying the delicious food and drinks, receiving our VIP boarding passes, and getting to know our fellow passengers (the cruise is win-to-get-in only so nobody knew each other!) we headed to the pier to board the Iceberg Quest boat. The captain gave us the safety speech and away we went. After a few more drinks and a couple loops around the harbour, we saw a small boat speeding towards us: it was the mystery artist. We were lucky we didn’t flip the boat because everyone ran over to see who was coming!
It was none other than Matt Mays and Adam Baldwin, the folk-rock singers with endless talent. They climbed aboard and started playing immediately. Their performance had the perfect backdrop– Signal Hill and the lower battery, which slowly turned into the St. John’s skyline, and then Fort Amherst as the boat made its way around the harbour. A couple of songs in, the captain announced that we’d be heading out through the Narrows. The sun was setting and Matt and Adam played “I’m on Fire” by Bruce Springsteen and “Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones. It was surreal.
The boat pulled into Quidi Vidi next, which was cool because I’d never seen the little town from that angle before. On one of the cliffs was a group of people having a bonfire and trying for some fish. Yes, they were fishing off the side of a cliff, and no, I really don’t think you can get any more Newfie than that. Matt Mays was thrilled by this and dedicated a song to them– they got the message because they all got up and started dancing and cheering. What a cool moment. You really can’t plan this stuff!
There were a few more loops around the harbour, a wicked encore, and high-fives all around. We thanked Matt and Adam for the unforgettable show, disembarked, and were waved off with a deadly swag bag. We scored sunglasses, Iceberg vodka, Pepsi, and tickets to see Coleman Hell at the Iceberg Alley Performance Tent in September!! Now I get to take in two Iceberg Alley shows since the festival coordinators have kindly invited twowildtides to Alan Doyle on September 15. Can’t friggin’ wait!
We want to send the most heartfelt thank-yous to Steele Communications, Iceberg Alley Music Festival, Iceberg Quest, Jag Hotel, Iceberg Vodka, Matt Mays and Adam Baldwin, and all the folks who put in the hard work it takes to make an event like this a success. A huge thanks also goes to the other sponsors: Coors Light, Collingwood Spirits & Wines, Pepsi, Canadian AV Inc, Steers Insurance, Orange Store, K-Rock, and 99.1 Hits FM.
For as long as I can remember travel has been a part of my life. As a child, my family often went camping in Prince Edward Island in the summer. I longed for those Island adventures all year and we’d take off on vacation as soon as school finished in June. As I got older my family decided to take a trip to Cuba. I was thrilled. This was my first experience on a plane. I fell in love with experiencing something new and meeting new people. When I hit 12 we ventured off to the Big Apple – my first experience in a ‘real city’, a metropolis. I fell in love with NYC the moment my feet landed on the ground. That city is beautiful, diverse and exudes possibility. I remember how proud I felt being able to tell my parents which subway we needed to take, or navigating the streets back to our apartment, or standing next to the Empire State Building with wide eyes. These experiences so naturally created the foundation upon which my curiosity was built. “What else is out there?”, I thought.
I stayed at the 
In the evening, we went out for dinner and drinks at 41Sugar and the food was to die for. So were the drinks. Get the mojito, you won’t be disappointed. The building also has a nightclub if you’re feeling like dancing all night!
Later that day we went to a bakery that was recommended to us for their delicious cakes, Butter Boutique. The sweets were divine and the decor was too cute! We walked from there to Vihara Maha Devi Park, a lovely green space in the middle of the city. It was Poya Day (a national celebration of the full moon) so many of the locals were out enjoying activities with their families such as paddleboats and pony rides. It was a perfect day for people-watching.
After a few hours in the park, we took a PickMe (Sri Lankan Uber) to the Old Dutch Hospital area for dinner. Surprisingly, most of the restaurants were closed for the holiday! So we grabbed a coffee and ordered a PickMe back to our homestay. Colombo is a really fun city. It’s not the most memorable itself, but depending on how you spend your time there and who you’re with, Colombo can be the perfect place to have some fun and make lifelong memories.
Have you been to Colombo? What did you do there? Let us know in the comments, we love hearing from our readers!
