  Pidurangala
Pidurangala is a rock mountain
fittingly positioned behind the fifth century Lion Rock of Sigiriya. The
name Pidurangala means `offering piles of gold’ when King Kassapa used
to travel to the village to give gold to help maintain the Buddhist
dagoba which still exists today.
According to legend, the monastery originates from the arrival of
King Kassapa when the bhikkus who were then living at Sigiriya were
relocated to the King’s city and palace. Kassapa built new caves and
temples for their benefit in a sort of compensation.
You can take a threewheeler or a bicycle to the foot of the
Pidurangala rock when you head down north of Sigiriya where you travel
about a kilometre until you reach a white temple known as the
Pindurangala Sigiriya Rajamaha Vihara. A 100 metres further along the
road, you’ll see a few monastic buildings including the large dagoba
made of red brick.
Steps lead steeply up the hillside behind the Pidurangala Vihara to a
flight of steps just below the summit of the rock which is a arduous 15
minute ascent. This leads to the amazing Rock Cave Temple which, even
though is of stupendous size, there’s only the reclining Buddha statue
made of brick and quite interesting murals of Vishnu and Saman. These
are rather faded and need to be maintained but the wonderful thing is
that the colour preservation from ages ago, is still intact.
 From here you may find the rough path up the summit of the rock which
is a five-minute scramble. It’s quite difficult because it is quite
narrow and since it’s such a beautiful view on the top, there should be
some alternative for the steps and another way to get there. Be careful
you don’t lose your way on your way down which is surprisingly easy to
do. The stunning view from the top of the Pidurangala mountain offers
panoramic sights of the Sigiriya rock from behind, showing the far more
irregular and interestingly shaped northern side of the rock. You don’t
see it when you climb it but it’s a lovely sight.
There are white Buddha statues from the village side and the tree
tops look like marzipan on a cake. The gentle breeze can be a bit too
windy to handle but as long as you got your belongings intact, you
needn’t fear falling from the rock.
Though, Pidurangala is a must-see mountain and a lesser travelled
rock on your journey to Sigiriya so make sure you don’t miss it next
time! |
