The backpacker’s paradise: Sri Lanka. Sigiriya and Dambulla (Party II)

In this second article about Sri Lanka you can find what is the best (or maybe not exactly the best) way to reach Sigiriya, what to see in Dambulla, where to sleep, how to travel with trains and ride local buses and many more interesting stories from my small travel adventure.

Getting there

The distance between Colombo and Sigiriya is about 170km. It’s good to know that there’s no direct bus/train to Sigiriya. You can go via Dambulla which is a good stopover if you want to visit The Cave Temple. 

I’ve heard that traveling across Sri Lanka with train is a must so I couldn’t wait to try it. 

Once when I reached Colombo Fort railway station I bought my train ticket to Habarana – 550R for 2nd class seats. According to what I’ve read (that’s why it’s extremely comfortable to have data while on the road) Habarana is the nearest train station to Sigiriya. 

                                                       Colombo Fort Railway Station

 On the ticket that I bought, the destination written was Galoya so I had to ask a couple of times just to make sure I won’t end up in a wrong place. I took the night train from Colombo, departing at 21:30h. 

The train station was quite busy and the whole scene reminded me so much of India and the crazy train journeys that I did once with Biljana :)

  Colombo Fort Railway Station

In between the locals, a few other human beings with backpacks and sticky light-skin faces were waiting on the platform.

Tip # 1 for trains in Sri Lanka:

Always check more than twice for your platform number as the first-hand given information could change any time :)

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw my train, arriving 21:30 sharp!

Excited about my first Sri Lankan train journey, I walked by 1st class just to see that they have nice comfy beds and I stepped into the 2nd class.

 Nothing to worry about: there’s a fan and quite comfortable and spacious…seats. That’s right, seats. Oh, I see now… That’s the difference between 1st/2nd class here. 

Well if you are used to sleep on a seat (being a flight attendant I don’t have any problem with that) you will find the 6hour journey to Habarana quite pleasant. 

I reached Habarana at 03:30 am only to find out that I was in the middle of nowhere. Apart from the small train station which looked quite dodgy at that time. 

There was only 2 guards there and I tried to ask them about the first bus to Dambulla. 

What you will often notice in Sri Lanka is that people will always give you different answers, being ask the same question a few times. 

First, I’ve been told that the bus will arrive around 07:00 am. Then, this changed to 07:45 and then again I received a few more timings. 

Meanwhile the guard made a short phone call and 5 min later a tuk-tuk driver showed up at the station. 

 The guy offered me a tuk-tuk ride to Sigiriya which is only 15km away from Habarana. The price was 1500 LKR. 

I refused to take the tuk-tuk, despite the fact that I didn’t even know how long I have to wait for the first bus and I decided to sleep at the train station. 

The driver saw that I won’t change my mind and he left. 

Of course I couldn’t sleep a lot, bothered all the time from the insects and waiting for the imaginary bus to show up. 

I’ve just started thinking that this train journey wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made and I should have planned the things more carefully when the morning slowly came and the place didn’t look so bad anymore. 

Waiting for the sunrise to come 

after spending a sleepless night at a dodgy train station

The guard finally told me that the bus will arrive at 05:45 and I should wait at the main road which was right next to the railway. 

The local bus to Dambulla arrived exactly at 05:45am and the moment I jumped inside I felt soo happy that I followed my instincts. Despite the early hour, the bus was already packed. Small children, old women, men going to work, everyone was trying to find space for their bags and hands. All buses in Sri Lanka are equipped with sound system and the music was loud and cool. That vehicle was full of life!

The driver placed my backpack at the front (usually there’s always space next to the driver for bags) and smiled to me. 

The ticket to Dambulla cost me 40R (0.24 €) so basically my morning started with a free bus party :)

Once when I reached the bus stop at Dambulla I figure out that my temple is not that far away. Having a sleepless night and my heavy backpack made me to take a tuk-tuk ride to The Cave Temple. I paid 100LKR even though the driver at the beginning was asking for 200R which is crazy. If you don’t have much luggage with you can just walk from the bus stand to the temple. 

Dambulla Temple is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka.

Arriving at Dambulla so early in the morning gave me the chance to visit The Cave Temple before it gets crowded with tourists and before the sun hits so bad so that the paved road you are walking on, starts burning your feet. 

So my tip for you: the earlier you get there, the better. 

Pagoda at Dambulla Golden Temple

Pagoda at Dambulla Golden Temple

When I arrived in front of the temple’s gate around 06:00 am I was sure that I will be the first visitor. So that was my reward for the sleepless night spent in Habarana!

There is no any entrance fees and you can walk free in the courtyard. First thing you will see here is Dambulla Golden Temple, which is located just downhill from The Cave Temple. 

The temple is guarded by the big Golden Buddha statue on top. You can take a walk and say hi to him :)

That was one of my most peaceful mornings in Sri Lanka. The only other “tourists” who decided to visit Buddha at that time were the monkeys :)

The light was perfect to play a bit with my camera. From the rooftop you have a chance to make some good shots:

The most impressing part of this complex is definitely The Cave temple. Hundreds of steps will lead you to the amazing cave chambers which kept secret paintings and Buddha statues. 

It will take you around half an hour to climb the steps and even though they’re not a challenge at all (especially compared to the Adam’s Peak steps) it’s still quite hard to climb it with a backpack. 

The security guards next to the entrance were really kind and they didn’t ask for any money so I left my backpack there and continued climbing the stairs.

It was full with curious monkeys doing their early morning monkey business :)

Before you enter the cave complex you will be ask to remove your shoes and of course an old men kindly provide his services to store them for 25LKR. I saw a few local guides telling their clients to leave the shoes before they reach the entrance so they don’t have to pay.

The Cave Temple is something that is worth to be seen. It has five caves which are painted with religious images following the contours of the rock. 

Inside the caves huge Buddha statues are staring at you mysteriously hidden behind transparent curtains. 

Maybe because I was alone here or because this place has so much history to tell, I felt the right atmosphere here, I found myself relaxed and peaceful. This was the best morning I’ve had in Sri Lanka. 

My opinion is that The Dambulla Cave is a way better experience compared to Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. 

Here are some photos from Dambulla Cave:

On the way back the things had changed and I was able to see the commercial part that each and every tourist spot has. Hundreds of people climbing the stairs, competing to take good photos, merchants selling different types of souvenirs… and this lady selling flowers and giving smiles for free  :)

A quick tuk-tuk ride to the bus stand almost throw me in the bus to Sigiriya :)

After spending the night at the train station in Habarana I couldn’t wait to finally sleep in a normal bed. 

Here I did something I consider as another traveler’s mistake. I rarely make plans but as a general rule I always book my 1st night accommodation so I feel more secured when have a place to sleep. 

I booked 1 night in Lakmini Lodge in  Sigiriya through Booking.com. The problem is that in countries like Sri Lanka these websites will never give you the best options for travelers on a budget. 

I was surprised that the price in Booking.com was about 6000 LKR (40$) which was definitely the most expensive room I had in Sri Lanka. Later, I found out that in Lakmini Lodge you can find rooms between 2000-3000 LKR which are never shown in the booking websites and which are always subject to negotiations. 

So my tip for you: don’t book anything in advance. You will find plenty of hotels and rooms for rent and you can bargain for a good price when you arrive. 

Another good option if you want to save some money is to stay in Dambulla as in Sigiriya everything is much more expensive. You can always take an early morning bus to Sigiriya and climb the rock in just a half day. 

Anyway, I can’t say that Iregret for my decision to stay in Lakmini Lodge. The place was really good and staff was extremely helpful. They even gave me a free tuk-tuk ride to the entrance of Sigiriya complex. 

My room was the most luxurious place I saw for my whole stay (and it better be for that amount of money) :D

The view from the lodge was magnificent and the breakfast was generous and tasty :)

View from Lakmini Lodge

This is where I had my breakfast

Breakfast time!

In Lakmini Lodge I’ve met one of the most amazing traveling couples I’ve seen so far. Let me introduce you Teja and Rok from Slovenia: 

We often hear about traveling couples but in fact when we meet them they’re not that much social and open with solo travelers. 

Teja and Rok were one of the exceptions I’ve seen on the road. We decided to go together to Sigiriya and I think not only our itinerary clicked but also our personalities. 

I had so much fun with them. They become not only part of my trip but also a wonderful traveling companion. Opposite to the opinion that is not easy to travel with couples because they want to stay isolated or they make too much drama, I can say Teja and Rok were my perfect partners in crime !

Sigirya or Lion Rock is a massive rock that rises at 200 meters above lush forests. Sigiriya today is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site.

Climbing Sigiriya rock is an expensive adventure. The ticket for the Lion Rock for foreigners cost 4260 LKR (30$) but I would say that it’s absolutely worth it. Overall, visiting Sigiriya is expensive because it’s getting more and more popular. My accommodation plus my ticket raised my expenses for that day to 70$. During the rest of my trip in Sri Lanka I was able to survive with that amount of money for 2-3 days!

It’s recommended to climb to the top early in the morning but since I needed some time to rest, we started hiking at the late afternoon. 

About 1200 steps will lead you to the summit with mesmerizing view. 

In the middle of the rock you will see a beautiful frescoes, painted on the wall of the cave. According to the legend this site was selected by King Kasyapa for his new capital. He built his palace on the top of this rock and decorated its sides with colorful frescoes.

Climbing the rock isn’t a hard task (trust me, it’s a piece of cake compared to Adam’s Peak) but make sure you have enough water with you to avoid dehydration and also take some sunscreen with you as the sun gets really strong there. Yes, you’re going to sweat a bit.

                           Sigiriya rock and the spiral stairs (on the left) leading to the summit

Once when we reached the top of Lion’s Rock we were rewarded with stunning views and beautiful sunset which was highly appreciated even by the naughty monkeys:

                              "Do you think you know something about modeling, peanut? 

                                                           Let me show you, now..." 

                                   This monkey can teach you a thing or two about posing

So here we are, we made it to the top!

It was one of my top experiences in Sri Lanka so I highly recommend you to sacrifice your 30$ for a ticket and just go for it!

On the way back down we saw The Cobra Hood Cave. The name derives from the shape of the rock – it resembles a fully opened cobra’s hood. 

By the time we descended back down dark clouds shown up in the sky and it started raining. We found a nice place for dinner called “Pradeep restaurant”. It’s on the main road, not far away from Lakmini Lodge. 

The dinner was well-deserved and tasty. A huge plate of  chicken kotthu (rotti bread chopped on a flat top and it's mixed with meat different vegetables) for 350LKR and of course my favourite local beer, Lion. If you want to know more about the typical Sri Lankan food, have a look at the first article about my journey. 

Me and my friends from Slovenia turned drinking of the local beer into a ritual. Each and every evening we were sharing our thoughts over a can of beer. 

Regarding the consumption of alcohol in Sri Lanka you will notice that at most restaurants alcohol is officially forbidden but there is plenty of liquor stores that you can easily buy a beer. 

These rules made my ritual of having a beer along with my dinner slightly difficult because they are used from locals as an excuse to sell the alcohol much more expensive (400-500 LKR for a can of beer in the restaurants compared to 250LKR in the liquor store). It also took us some time to figure out what is the real price of the beer in the liquor store (220-250 LKR) because the moment they see you are a foreigner the price will get higher automatically ;) 

Still, some experiences in your life (like having a cold beer in the end of a long and exhausting day on the road) will stay priceless :) This reminded me so much of that famous advertisement:

"There are some things money can't buy. For everything else there's MasterCard" :D

Cheers from Sigiriya!