Tounge Twisting Towns

As hard as we try, we find it extremely difficult to get our tongues around some of the passing towns. Thirukketeeswaram, Pallavarayankaddu, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee. We find it easier to give them a nickname ie: Thirko, Pally, Anarad, Polly and Trinco. The locals seem to find this amusing.  

Heading into Trinco on the East coast it was with sad memories of the horrific news images of the devastating tsunami that struck the coast back in 2004.

The locals told us that most of the buildings and infrastructure within 1 klm of the coast were completely destroyed. The Kandasamy Kovil temple was worth a look and being built high up on a hill overlooking the coast it was not damaged by the tsunami.

The thing that constantly amazes us on our travels is that people the world over have an amazing capacity to recover and move on.

While there is still some evidence of the destruction that occurred, you have to look hard to see it. New resorts and hotels have sprung up to replace the old and the holiday makers seem to be chugging along just fine.
Village life is back to normal, the kids are happy and smiling again.
The wet season is upon us now so the weather was damp and the skies grey but travelers (mainly Sri Lankans) were still around in small numbers making the best of their holiday time.
We checked out some beach towns including Trinco, Batticaloa ( Batti ) and Passekudah ( Passey ).  The later had the nicest beach by far.

Not a lot goes on here on the east Coast so after a quick look we headed back west and inland towards the city of Polonnaruwa, ( Polly ) the ancestral home of the Kings that ruled the plains more than 800 years ago.

Remnants of this amazing period of development and construction are spread through the Unesco World heritage listed site. It was built more recently than Anuradhapura (Anarad) so the ruins are in a better state of repair. The scale is also a bit smaller here so it’s a nice place to enjoy the sites on a bicycle.

From ‘Polly’ we headed to Sri Lankas most well known tourist site, Sigiriya or ‘Lion Rock’.  This impressive rock outcrop is visible from quite a distance from town, with its near vertical walls ending on a tabletop flat summit. Ruins of an ancient civilisation are scattered across the top.

 

Tourists flock to Sigiriya for good reason and seeing as though we were there on the 23^rd of December there were plenty of them sharing this amazing site with us.

The only way to the top of the rock is to climb the numerous rock stairs that have been built over the years. We did not count them but people told us there were at least 1200!. It might sound challenging but there is plenty to see and most travelers would find it quite easy if you take your time.

 

 

As you head up towards the summit there is a very exposed spiral staircase that goes up to a long sheltered gallery containing some beautiful frescoes. No one is certain of their age but they are very impressive.

As we climbed we noted the ancient steps cut into the rock either side of us. We were both very happy to be doing the climb now and not back in the 5^th century when it is believed that the structures were built. The risks taken back then to get to the top would have been enormous not to mention the froglike toe grip required to hold on to these small grooves they called steps.

As usual the ‘experts’ are still arguing about just exactly what this complex is all about.

The established theory is that the rock and its buildings acted as a residence and a ‘fort’ for King Kasapa during his reign (AD477-495).
If this was the case, then it made sense to us as it would have been an easy place to defend, but on the other hand, easy for invaders to simply encircle and sit and wait until all the King’s supplies ran out at the top!

Some archaeologists now believe that Sigiriya was a religious site and this theory is believable as well?

Really, it does not matter! If you are in Sri Lanka this site is a must see!
As we approached the summit we were greeted by fabulous 360 degree views so we sat for a while and looked out over the vast and lush land.

Personally, I think maybe it was a religious site as you could imagine anybody who made the effort to get to the top in the 5^th century may just have felt a little bit closer to their chosen ‘god’.

The walk down was quick as many of the crowds were still going up and in our opposite direction so we finished our visit, at the bottom in the informative museum.

As we walked back to our guesthouse, along the ancient moats and ruins we  took some good local advice and walked well away from the tourist area to find a great vantage point for a photo and view of the rock, without a person in site! Thanks Mr Desilva!

On arrival at ‘Flower Inn’ we packed our gear and got ourselves organised for our next stop, the pretty hill towns of the Tea Country!