Golden Temples
As you venture up the stairs that lead to a verandah from the roadside, which alone is a separate adventure, you’ll be presented to five different cave temples, each of varying sizes. The Rangiriri Dambulla Cave Temple is a UNESCO’s Cultural World Heritage site. As you’ll see within the cave premises, the 157 Buddha statues glisten golden nuances, while the paintings and artefacts boast bright colours that radiate through the otherwise dark and indistinct caverns.
Minneriya National Park
A wildlife enthusiasts’ dream vacation awaits at Minneriya National Park, in which some seasons go as far as putting on a display of the ‘largest gathering of Asian elephants’ seen nowhere else in the world. Watch as the Mugger crocodile and the Indian python, alongside other lizards, prey in their reptilian ways while mammals such as deer and leopard meander across the park’s premises as 150+ species of birds soar across its skies.
Sigiriya
Witness the thrill of making your way through a once unbreachable fortress situated on a rocky plateau that provided the king with a 360-degree aerial view. Here lies to date the king’s one-of-a-kind palace, with details engraved on the rough and granular walls of the Lion Fortress that you could feel at the stroke of your fingertips. The peak of the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ looks down on acres of royal gardens, natural pools and luscious forestry surrounding it.
Pidurangala Hike
A hike to experience in Sri Lanka. Rise up early in the morning and catch a glimpse of the sunrise over the greater Dambulla area at the peak of Pidurangala rock, undisturbed by the presence of hikers. The panoramic views of the mist-filled jungle lowlands are such a treat to watch, coupled with the witchlike silence apart from chirping birds and sleeping souls. A hike to glimpse the sunset is equally satisfying, but you won’t be alone.
