Most people who visit Dambulla also make a short trip to Sigiriya in the morning to hike up one of two rocks. Before doing much research, we had planned to climb up the popular Sigiriya Rock; an ancient rock fortress that is currently a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, after a bit more research, we were told about another climb you could do that gave you stunning views of Sigiriya Rock in the distance: Pidurangala Rock.
Why the Pidurangala Rock hike is worth it
I mean, just look at these views! As you can tell, we weren’t there on the clearest day, however, once we made it to the top of the rock, I was completely blown away. The great thing about Pidurangala Rock is that you get the views of Sigiriya Rock in the distance – it’s literally one giant rock formation sticking out in a sea of greenery. Truly an epic sight that would have only been made better had the sun decided to come out. Once at the top, it wasn’t overly crowded as there is a lot of rock formation for people to spread out around.
Another bonus was that the entrance fee for foreigners to climb Pidurangala Rock was only 500LKR (US$2.50), which was much cheaper than climbing Sigiriya Rock (US$30).
Things you should know before climbing up Pidurangala Rock
There are two things you should be aware of before deciding to climb up Pidurangala Rock.
Firstly, this is a very popular hike for locals. Unfortunately, we went on a Sunday when many locals have the day off and typically climb up the rock (we didn’t find this out until after we got there). Thus, it was very busy and we often had to wait in queues as people made their way up and down (see last photo). I would highly recommend planning your visit to Pidurangala during the weekday.
Secondly, this is by no means an easy ‘walk in the park’ type of hike. It was hard. Not necessarily in the sweating it’s so tiring kind of hike, but more in the dangerous way. There were certain parts of the hike you had to jump to get to and really pull yourself up. After all of the climbing, my clothes and shoes were filthy. Thankfully, the people surrounding us were helpful. Many reached a hand out when we were unsure or worried about falling. We were also lucky that our driver came up with us and helped us through. That being said, I would not recommend this hike for children (we saw a few families turn around at the first challenging part of the hike and head back down) or for those who are elderly and/or unfit.
If you’re up for a challenge, then the Pidurangala Rock hike was absolutely worth it for the breathtaking and unique views up at the top.
