Sigiriya - Lion rock

Sigiriya is one of the most famous places in SriLanka, and for good reason. It's just amazing.

The rock is covered with frescoes and buddhist meditation caves dating back to the 3rd century B.C.!! It is rich in history and a very important site archaeologically. (read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya)

BUT.... It costs US$30 each to visit... 
We debated and debated.. But seeing as US$30 is our combined daily budget, we just couldn't commit to going..
So instead, we visited the smaller rock, just next door. 

The smaller rock is neglected from the tourist trail even though is is equally as archaeologically important and old. It is full of it's own frescoes and Buddhas and is an amazing mountain to climb, yet only costs 300 rupees (US$2.5)! Less than a tenth of the price. 

This Buddha is from 2 B.C.

 Although for the most part, the trail is pretty much non-existant.. We literally had to scramble over boulders, passing Gypsy between us!

But at the top, the view was pretty amazing. And seeing the sheer number of people queued up to climb the main rock, made us glad we hadn't.

And, as if climbing 1 mountain wasn't enough for the day, some friends told us about another mountain near where we were staying from which we could watch the sun set over both Big and Small Sigiriya. So up we climbed again.. Although it was all too much excitement for Gypsy who was oblivious to the beautiful sunset!

We really enjoyed our time in Sigiriya and are still undecided about whether to climb the main rock or not. We plan to come back at the end of our trip, so will see how much money we have left.