Sigiriya or Pidurangala: which rock should you climb?

Two rocks, a couple of kilometres apart. One is the famous one you climb; the other is the one you climb to look at the famous one.

The fortress itself: the water gardens, the mirror wall, the frescoes, the lion’s paws and the spiral staircase up the face. It is the site, and it is the one with the archaeology.

It is also the most expensive entrance fee most visitors will pay in Sri Lanka, the steps are metal staircases bolted to the rock face, and by mid-morning it is hot and queued. The view from the top is over flat forest in every direction.

The rock opposite. Much cheaper, far less organised, and the last section is a genuine scramble over boulders rather than a staircase. There is a reclining Buddha part-way up.

The view is the reason to do it: Sigiriya itself, standing out of the forest, which is a better photograph than anything you get from on top of Sigiriya.

• Want the history and the frescoes: Sigiriya.
• Want the photograph of the rock: Pidurangala.
• Nervous about heights or exposed staircases: Pidurangala is lower but rougher; Sigiriya is higher but has handrails. Neither is ideal. Tell us and we will be straight with you.
• Have two mornings: do both. Pidurangala at sunrise, Sigiriya at opening the next day.

Both are early-morning propositions. Pidurangala has no shade on the scramble and Sigiriya’s staircases get hot. Whichever you pick, be at the gate when it opens.

On our whole-island route you have two nights at Sigiriya, which is exactly enough to do both without either becoming a rush.