The visit to Sigiriya was my favorite part of the trip.  It was truly incredible and I think the pictures will show you that.  I am going to post a bunch here just to really show you what an amazing experience it was.  So many of my friends have visited Sri Lanka and passed over this gem of a landmark.  After taking some splendid shots in front of the monumental Lion rock, test your limits and climb it.  You might even experience a once in a lifetime rainstorm when you get to the top like I did!

always trying to make a connection.

Okay scary.. and apparently there were king cobras as well.  Thank god we didn’t run into either of these!

This guy grabbed me and refused to let me walk up the stairs alone.  I told him, “Do I look like an old lady to you???” He wanted a tip and this was his way of getting one. Sorry for the butt shot.

We made it to the halfway point and found the place where the monkeys hangout.

The climb

And that is why they call it the Lion Fortress.

We finally made it to the top of Sigiriya, and of course it started pouring!!! “This is a rainforest after all!” This girl on the trail reminded me after she heard me complaining about the rain.  There were no caves or any shelter on the top for us to hide from the storm.  So we waited for the storm to come and go and enjoyed the experience.

Survived another day!

On my way down:

As I was reaching the end of the descent this women approached me and stated, “Take my picture!” I replied, “Excuse me?” She said, “Take my picture! I am a real Sri Lankan woman.  Don’t you want my picture?”  I asked them if they would like a picture of me? They did not have a camera because they did not have enough money to buy one.  They gave me their address and asked me to please send her the photos of her and her family.  Of course I did.  I cannot express how kind the Sri Lankan people were during my visit enough.

As we were leaving, I saw some guys feeding stray dogs.  I looked up on the roof of this hut, and there were these monkeys ready to attack the dogs for some of the food..

I told them any guys that are friendly to dogs are friends of mine 🙂

So I thought I could fit Dambulla in this post but it seems that it will be too much.  Therefore the next post I will take you in the Cave temples of Dambulla, and for now I will leave you with this:

The toilet sign from my hotel bathroom