Sigiriya and beyond, Sri Lanka
Sigiriya is part of Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle and is somewhere that stood out for me as a very special place in this magical country. Sigiriya is well known for it’s ancient rock fortress which you can climb to experience a beautiful sunrise but in our time here we also experienced local village life, watched wild elephants at sunset and returned each evening to the comfort of Hotel Sigiriya, with Lion Rock glowing in the distance.
A Window Into Rural Life: Our Village Visit
One of our most unexpectedly fabulous experiences was the local village visit; whilst highly curated and a very ‘slick’ operation; the locals are to be commended in turning their day to day activities in to an experience that can be enjoyed by tourists and contributes to the economy.
We started with a slow bullock cart ride along sandy tracks, passing bright-green paddy fields and home gardens edged with banana trees and coconut palms. Life felt unhurried: people tending vegetables, children playing, the occasional scooter humming past.
Then we traded the cart for a narrow wooden boat and pushed off across a small village lake speckled with water lilies. The wind made the crossing hard for our young Sri Lankan skipper but we helped him out with some rowing and made it over in no time.
In the village, we were welcomed into a simple open-air kitchen and shown how the midday meal came together:
Coconuts were grated and pressed for milk, which went straight into bubbling curries on clay stoves.
Spices were roasted and ground by hand, filling the air with that uniquely Sri Lankan mix of warmth and sweetness.
We were gently roped into helping: stirring pots, tasting curries, trying (and failing) to make perfectly round little accompaniments.
Lunch was served on banana leaves, eaten with our hands the traditional way. It was one of those meals where nothing is fancy but everything is fresh: vegetables from the garden, rice from local fields, recipes passed down through families.
We left feeling that we had seen a quieter, more intimate side of Sri Lanka: not just the headline sights, but the everyday rhythms that keep everything turning.
Elephants at Dusk: Safari from Sigiriya
No matter how many wildlife documentaries you have seen, nothing quite prepares you for your first proper elephant safari. From Sigiriya, we headed out towards one of the nearby parks, timing our visit for late afternoon when the light softens and the animals tend to move.
We climbed into an open jeep and bumped our way into the park, past scrub, open grassland and stretches of water. At first, the landscape seemed empty. Then we noticed a shape on the horizon. Then another. And another.
As we drew closer, those grey dots resolved into elephants:
Family groups grazing together, adults tearing up great clumps of grass while calves hid between their legs.
Youngsters mock-chasing each other, swinging their trunks and kicking up dust.
Solitary males standing off to one side, unhurried and completely unconcerned by our presence.
We sat in the jeep and simply watched. The only sounds were the soft grumble of elephants, the call of birds and the occasional whisper from our guide. As the sun began to drop, everything was washed in gold and the silhouettes of elephants against the sky felt almost unreal.
As the sun started to disappear, we drove to (what we thought was) the exit of the park and suddenly our jeep driver stopped by a beautiful lake. At this point, the heavens decided to open and whilst we stayed nice and dry in the jeep, he got up on the bonnet of the vehicle and started preparing a fresh fruit platter for us! We watched in awe as he did this and then presented it to us to eat whilst watching the last rays of sun disappear and looking for crocs coming out of the water! This was a magical ‘extra’ that we were not expecting and would not have had if it not for our wonderful guide/friend/driver Manju (MKLanka Travels)
Seeing the animals like that, wild and free in their own landscape, was one of the standout memories of the whole trip. It is gentle, unshowy magic, and it lingers long after you have left.
Our Base: Hotel Sigiriya
For this part of the trip, we stayed at Hotel Sigiriya, and it turned out to be exactly what we needed: relaxed, comfortable and perfectly positioned.
What we particularly appreciated about Hotel Sigiriya:
The pool looked straight across to Sigiriya, so we often found ourselves just floating or lying on a lounger, watching the light shift on the rock face.
Rooms were simple but comfortable and cool, a real relief to come back to after a hot climb or dusty safari.
Evenings felt unhurried: we could linger over dinner, try a mix of Sri Lankan and international dishes, and then wander back through the gardens under a sky full of stars.
It was not over-the-top opulence, but it was exactly the kind of easy-going comfort that works beautifully in this region: a proper sense of place, good food, and the luxury of that front-row seat to Lion Rock.
