Sigiriya

Sigiriya was built as a royal citadel in the fifth century by King Kashyapa, who moved the capital here from Anuradhapura and fortified a rock that had been occupied by forest monks long before him. After his death the site returned to monastic use and was gradually abandoned. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most visited place in Sri Lanka.

What survives is more than a ruin on a summit. The approach runs through symmetrical water gardens — among the oldest surviving landscaped gardens anywhere — then up through boulder gardens and terraces before the stairs begin.

It is roughly 1,200 steps from the base to the summit. The route is well made and railed, but a good part of it is metal staircase bolted to the rock face, and there are stretches where you climb in single file with a long drop beside you. Anyone uneasy with heights should know that before setting off.

Two-thirds of the way up, a spiral stair leads to a sheltered pocket in the rock face holding the frescoes: painted figures, often called the Sigiriya damsels, still vivid after fifteen centuries. Just beyond is the Mirror Wall, a polished surface covered in verses scratched by visitors between the sixth and fourteenth centuries — some of the oldest tourist graffiti in existence.

Then comes the lion terrace, where two enormous carved paws flank the final staircase. The lion's head and shoulders once stood above them; you climbed into the mouth. Only the paws remain.

A kilometre north, Pidurangala is a rougher scramble with no ancient stairway and a stretch of boulder climbing near the top. It is far quieter, and it gives you the view Sigiriya cannot: Sigiriya itself, standing clear of the jungle. Travellers who want both often climb Pidurangala at dawn and Sigiriya after.