This was our first view of beautiful Sigiriya. Lion rock, they call the 8th wonder of the world. It is a 5th century citadel perched atop 2000 rock steps. We decided to climb Pidurangala rock in the dark to watch this spectacular sunrise over beautiful Sigiriya. During our walk back, to top off our magical morning, a wild elephant crossed our path, just 10 metres in front of us and we watched her pass in awe. Pidurangala Rock Temple, is almost as high as Lion rock but at 1/7 of the price, it was a no brainer for us. We loved it so much that we climbed up again 2 days later. Kaudulla National Park is just a short drive from Sigiriya, and a quieter more personal version of the famous Minneriya National Park. We took an afternoon tour by jeep and were lucky enough to see 80 elephants roaming free throughout the park. It was so wonderful to see them slowly meandering along eating grass. Some wandered in family groups and others alone. The largest herd had around 60 elephants. There were plenty of monkeys and birds to see as well. We saw grey lanur monkey, purple faced lanur and tamarind monkeys, peacocks, herons, eagles, pelicans and kingfishers. Sigiriya is a great base to explore Dumbulla, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura. There are fabulous ancient ruins to explore in the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka. There are a handful of restaurants along the main road and plenty of guest houses.
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