Sigiriya Rock and its gardens

From the Sigiriya Museum car park the way follows the mapped footways across the grounds to the Lion's Paw Terrace at the foot of the rock, about 1 km from the start, then climbs the staircases to the summit of Sigiriya, the Lion Rock (363 m on OpenStreetMap). UNESCO describes the ruins of the capital of King Kassapa I (477 to 495) on the slopes and summit of a granite peak some 180 m high, with galleries and staircases emerging from the mouth of a gigantic lion built of bricks and plaster. The way down is the way up.

It is 2.4 km round. The router's height data reads the rock badly, so the 180 m of ascent is UNESCO's height for the rock; allow about 1 to 1.5 hours of walking, and much longer with stops for the sights. The grade is Moderate, raised from the Easy of the time formula because the climb is a steep series of staircases on the rock.

Take care on the staircases, above all in wet weather, and keep to the path. The FCDO warns of venomous snakes and insects in many parts of the country, and of heavy rain, flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya is run by the Central Cultural Fund. Its price list, updated on 10 October 2026, gives a full ticket at 35 US dollars and a half ticket at 20, payable in rupees at the day's rate; the ticket is for single entry, the counters open from 7:00 to 17:00 daily, and drones need the Fund's written approval. OpenStreetMap tags the museum car park as free.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with the distance and time worked out from it. The climb is the published figure: height data cannot be trusted on this ground. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.