Travels with Kathryn

Anyone who knows me, knows just how much I love getting up in the middle of the night to climb up something. This is not something I do in my regular life, but seems to feature quite often on the type of holidays I choose to do. I must re-evaluate this…

So, today at 4.45am my alarm went off and we were on the bus to Sigriya. Sigriya is probably the best the most recognised symbol of Sri Lanka – a rocky mountain, shapped like a lion (hence the name) rising out of the jungle. Archaeologists are unsure as to whether it was built as a palace-fortress or exisited first as a monestary that was relocated to a nearby rocky mountain (Pidurangula) by Royal decree. 

The story we were told, and my preferred version,  is that it was built as a fortress- palace by King Kasyapa (1st century AD). Kaspaya, although the first born son of the king, he was not the first born son with his first wife and therefore not eligible for the throne. The brothers had a sister who was married to the Head of the Army and shall we say, the Princess had a difficult relationship with her mother-in-law and accused her of hitting her. The King was not best pleased and had the mother-in-law stripped naked and burned to death (a slight overreaction perhaps?). In retaliation the husband/son/army commander conspired with Kaspaya to murder the king, and for Kaspaya to take the throne. King Kaspaya moved his capital from Anuradhapura to Sigriya and built a fortress against his younger brother/the true heir Moggallana. After 16 years having raised an army in India, Moggallana returned and there was a battle during which Kaspaya killed himself to prevent his own brother taking his life. All very dramatic.

What exisits today are the ruins of this palace which were discocered in the 1890s. Today not all the site has been excavated, with the plan being that as techniques improve they will be better able to preserve what is there.

So, imagine it, we are in the dark, and I know I have a 1,200 step climb ahead of me up a 349m mountain…

Since I have written the above, I have been reliably informed that apparently, its too short to be a mountain as its under 800m. I chose to ignore such diminishment of my achievement and carry on regardless.  

You start by crossing the moat and walking through the water gardens which include fountains powered by gravity. I am sure these are lovely, but as: (i) it was dark, and (ii) I was focussed on climbing up the mountain we sort of skipped through this. You then enter the boulder garden (a clue in the name). These sections require some level of walking up, but I was still with even the fast walkers of the group so nothing too difficult.

However, from here on up I was very much at the back of the group – with Roy acting as “sweeper” our 57 year old bus assistant in his slacks, not so much as breathing deeply. Some people would be embarassed by this, but I was happy enough to be making it up. Just before the final ascent to the summit you are greeted with the lion’s paws. In the 5th century, on climbing up the northern end of the rock, you would have been greeted by a giant stone lion, and it is from this Sigriya gets its name as sinha-giri means Lions Rock. Only the feet remain having been excavated in 1898.

As you can see from the photo above, this was the big climb up to the summit -and I made it up, a bit after most of the group but without crying or having a melt down or anything! The summit is where King Kasyapa had his fortified captial, but today only a few foundations exist (and more stairs).

I was far quicker and its much easier coming down. Having reached the summit at 6.30am, and then coming down it at 7.30am you can see the differences in the numbers of people. It is absolutely worth getting up for and I would say achieveable for most levels of fitness unless you are trying to run up it…

On the way down you can see the mirror wall which is a 3m high shiny wall wih inscriptions left by visitors between the 6th an 11th centuries on their way to see the frescos. These are 21 rather voluptuous ladies wearing diaphorous silk (hiding nothing), which many people felt the desire to comment on. These are in good condition in a sheltered gallery, and no photos are allowed.

We had completed our assent by 9am and it was time to return to the hotel for a well-deserved breakfast (I went for a fried potato, dahl and mixed omelette) and then headed to the pool. As I alluded to in my last post the pool initially was not the most relaxing place to be, but I did a few lengths and spent much time picking the leaves out and generally floating about.

At 2.30pm we headed off for an Ayurvedic massage and steam to have all the mountain climbing kinks worked out. Now, having had one of these before in India, I knew roughly what to expect, so you start with payment and then were escorted into a room two by two and told to undress. Maria (from my group) and I did just this, then lay face down on the massage beds. Evidently this was incorrect as the massage ladies came back in armed with towels (I had a special “long” towel which went around me about three times which I realy appreciated) we were supposed to wrap ourselves in, which we then did and sat opposite each other in the chairs provided. There is much oil involved, and you are massaged from ears all the way down to your toes, front and back. I felt very well oiled, pummelled, and ever so slightly molested.

After this, we were taken to a steam room (and reunited with the other ladies of our group) to allow the oil to soak in, and then finally given cool nice smelling towels for a wipe down and to re-dress. My skin feels amazing and certainly less oily than my previous experience (although I reckon I could craft my hair vertically) so I am going to try and sleep it in as it were, and awake looking no older than 41 tomorrow perhaps?

I am writing this sitting on our bacony over the pool just watching the sunse behind the trees. I cannot believe I only have one more stop and 3 more days until I have to head home (why did I not stay longer?). I will absolutely have to return to Sri Lanka to see more of the country, eat more of the food etc. It is a truly wonderful place.

Tomorrow we are heading to Sri Lanka’s second largest city – Kandy.