Sigiriya
Sri Pada maybe the most famous peak in Sri Lanka, but the rock of Sigiriya is not far behind. Certainly Sigiriya has more foreign tourists - in 2004, 98,944 of them visited the place.* That's nearly 20% of the annual total for Sri Lanka.
In the center of Sri Lanka there’s a gargantuan rock called Sigiriya that many say |should be the eighth wonder of the world.It rises from the flat surroundings as if dropped from space, and is bordered by landscaped water gardens. To experience the view from the summit the visitor must make a tiring climb through a massive pair of lion paws, past bare-breasted temptresses pictured on the rock walls, and up a final dizzying climb that tests the nerve of all but tightrope walkers.
This may not sound like much fun, but the amazing view from the top of jungle laid out before your eyes like a tapestry of every imaginable green is worth the effort. Once you have scaled and descended, though, there is nothing you want more than a cool room and steaming shower to loosen up those muscles you never knew you had!
Fortunately for the visitor, the Sigiriya Village is the perfect antidote for the strenuous climb and 1 inevitable travelling that surrounds any trip to this cultural highlight. The hotel declares it is ‘where I nature meets culture’ and it offers the chance to stay in rooms spread out among a profusion of the 1 actual greenery you can admire from the top of Sigiriya. Bevis Bawa - the brother of Sri Lanka’s most famous architect Geoffrey - landscaped the gardens and ensured that as few trees as possible were cut down prior to construction. In the true spirit of eco-friendly practice, the trees are seen as part of the attraction and indeed provide a beauty that nothing man-made ever could.
The complex consists of a number of clusters, which are built and decorated according to themes that revolve around the Sri Lankan village, which consists of three interlinking components - the temple, the stream and the paddy field. Firstly there are the Kingfisher rooms that correspond to the idea of the stream. Each room is decorated in blue with fish swimming across the bedspread and a kingfisher keeping watch over the sleeping guests.
The Paddy Field cluster features green interiors, natural woven boxes like those in which farmers store paddy, and even a rice pounder. The Temple cluster has long, straight walkways like those monks use for walking meditation, dagoba-shaped candle stands, and triangles on the curtains representing the design of temple walls. The saffron of monks’ robes provides much of the colour in the room. In addition there is the Sigiriya cluster, where all the rooms feature a water pool by the door and are arranged around a moat that hosts hundreds of fish darting back and forth in its depths. I was naively fooled into thinking the moss-covered waJI around this section was ancient, when actually it was designed to look that way in the not-so-ancient times when the hotel was constructed!We were staying in the Temple cluster. I must say that the ideas behind the interior design were charming and the amount of effort made impressive. One side of the room was extremely classy, with beautifully designed wooden chairs, a ceiling to floor mirror, and a back wall made from ice cube effect glass. The other side of the room featured homemade pictures and wall hangings in pinks, oranges and yellows depicting the floral offerings made in temples.Although the hotel is a complex of 120 rooms, it retains a feeling of privacy. Each porch is adorned with one of the longest loungers I have ever seen a perfect place to relax in the evening while making the most of the impressively stocked mini-bar. With a gin and tonic in hand, the sun setting and the calls of birds retiring to their nests providing the pleasant soundtrack, I decided I felt very much at home.
In the evening, the Sigiriya Village is not lit brightly in order to retain the atmosphere of the jungle. The daytime sound of birdsong is replaced by night creatures whose melodies accompany your stroll to the restaurant. The waiters are clad in the traditional shirt and sarong, and flowers in bowls of water at the entrance welcome you. The buffet is laid out before the guests with the highlight being the home-grown organic produce from the farm. We indulged and chatted late into the night, ambling back through the darkness thankful that it was not a real Sri Lankan village where a mother-in-law would likely have been waiting up for us! Activities at the hotel include sporting opportunities such as tennis and badminton, but here they are enhanced with the opportunity to experience more of the natural surroundings. Birding, trekking and safaris to see the famed wild elephants are on offer, but it is the birding that is the star attraction. With three trained birders, two apprentices and an impressive 130 species of bird, it is not surprising that they attract groups of devoted birders.The best times to go are at dawn and dusk when the hotel organises special tours for guests. At these times you may be able to spot a yellow-eyed babbler, a rose-ringed parakeet, or even a Ceylon paradise flycatcher. The names are so descriptive that the lazy or exhausted need only to recline on that stretched lounger on the porch close their eyes and imagine how colourful and exotic such birds might be. Another attraction is the Ayurvedic Centre, which offers to rid the body of pollutants through herbal baths, steam baths, saunas, peeling treatments (a title I that makes it sound more like ancient torture than I merely exfoliating dead skin), head and body massages and the intriguing panda sweda treatment, which involves fermenting the body with herbal rice packs I and fresh cow’s milk.
Also wholly natural is the hotel farm that features a j wide array of organically grown and raised vegetables and livestock. Memories of visits to a farm as a child prompted me to go and relive a little of my youth and plod around the muddy pigsty with tiny piglets. This I did - though I must admit I had forgotten about the delicate aroma of our pink friends and proceeded to leave more swiftly than I did as a child. The range of produce was impressive, but as I chomped my way through a serving of tender pork after my visit, 1 I realized I was in fact tucking into one of the little 1 guys. Very fresh and very delicious, but I must admit to a slight amount of guilt, which for a staunch non-1 vegetarian like me is unheard of. Also wholly natural is the hotel farm that features a wide array of organically grown and raised vegetables and livestock. Memories of visits to a farm as a child prompted me to go and relive a little of my youth and plod around the muddy pigsty with tiny piglets. This I did - though I must admit I had forgotten about the delicate aroma of our pink friends and proceeded to leave more swiftly than did as a child. The range of produce was impressive, but as I chomped my way through a serving of tender pork after my visit, I realized I was in fact tucking into one of the little | guys. Very fresh and very delicious, but I must admit to a slight amount of guilt, which for a staunch non vegetarian like me is unheard of.
After a breakfast taken while gazing at Sigiriya rock, I made my exit to begin the journey back to Colombo Sigiriya Village is a perfect place to use as a base from which to conquer the mighty rock and then to recover afterwards. Thirty-five acres of gardens and birding opportunities provide the nature, and the Ayurvedic Centre, carefully thought-out room design, and friendly staff, are proud to provide the culture. All that’s needed is for the visitor to arrive worn out and with a desire to discover the village life in the shadow of Sigiriya rock, and you have a match made in heaven.