Safari Adventures and Ancient Fortresses: Your Guide to Sigiriya

Sigiriya is a town in central Sri Lanka famed for its spectacular wildlife and Lion Rock. The town is in two halves and surrounds a main road making it is easy to get between local spots.

We recommend spending 3 nights here so that you have 2 full days in the town. Sigiriya is not to be missed for those who want to see elephants during their trip. Home to an event known as The Gathering, hundreds of elephants arrive in Minneriya National Park during the dry season (July-September) in search of water.

Getting to Sigiriya

There is no train station in Sigiriya so you will need to book tickets to Habarana. It is possible to get the train from Colombo to Habarana (1200 – 2500 LKR/£4-7). Following our itinerary we took the train from Trincomalee. From Trincomalee you can either get off at Galoya or Habarana according to the train times. Tickets range from 1800 – 2900 LKR (£5-8) as this route tends to be an express train.
Train tickets can either be bought at the station or online at the Sri Lanka National Railway website or 12Go Asia. Note if you purchase tickets online you may need to exchange this for a physical ticket at the station.
To get to Sigiriya from the station we pre-arranged a tuktuk pick up with our homestay owner for 5000 LKR (£13).

It is also possible to reach Sigiriya by public bus. This is the cheapest method of travelling the country but can be slow and very overcrowded with limited luggage space. As we had large luggage we opted not to use the public bus during our trip.

Where to stay

Sigiriya town is in two halves around the Lion Rock formation. We chose to stay on the Sigiriya Tank side of town. There are a number of restaurants available here and a small supermarket. Try to base yourself centrally as during elephant season it is not advised to walk around in the dark.

Things to do

Safari in Minneriya National Park

Safari was the main event for our trip to Sri Lanka. We booked a fabulous afternoon session with local company, Minneriya Safari Tours. The morning sessions tend to be best for bird spotting whilst the afternoon session is better for elephants, so make sure to factor this into your booking. Our private jeep for 2 cost US$150 and included a park ranger who was able to point out wildlife and was highly informative. It is extremely important to do your research into the company who organises your safari. There is at least one safari company in Sigiriya who also offer elephant riding on a captive elephant. It was important to us that our money did not go into the hands of people who were offering these unethical activities, which harm the animals we were keen to see in the wild. It is possible that you may see this elephant being walked through the town, and this may be distressing to some.

Lion Rock & Pidurangala Rock

These rock formations dominate the local scenery and are well worth a visit. Lion Rock (aka Sigiriya) is an ancient rock fortress and a UNSECO world heritage site formed from volcanic activity. Entrance costs US$36 pp and be prepared to climb a number of stairs to the top. Alternatively, if you wish to see the view featuring Lion Rock you can visit the nearby Pidurangala Rock. We chose to climb Pidurangala Rock to watch the sunset overlooking Lion Rock. Entrance costs 1000 LKR (~£2.50). The beginning of this walk is through the grounds of a temple but there are free scarves to borrow to cover knees and shoulders if required. Wear good shoes as there are some places on the route where you will have to scramble over rocks.

Dambulla cave temples

Golden Buddha in Dambulla.