Sigiriya Tour Packages from Malaysia

Sigiriya is the single most striking sight in Sri Lanka — a granite monolith rising 200 metres from the flat jungle floor, with a 5th-century palace built on top and a set of water gardens at the base that still function today. A Sri Lankan king carved staircases into the rock face, painted frescoes of celestial maidens on the cliff wall, and laid out a pleasure garden of symmetrical pools and fountains. All of it survives. The climb takes about an hour and the view from the top stretches to the horizon in every direction — forest, paddy fields, distant hills and the glint of reservoirs built by the same ancient civilisation. Dambulla Cave Temple, Sri Lanka's largest and best-preserved cave complex, is 20 minutes south of Sigiriya — 150 golden Buddha statues and ceiling paintings that cover 2,000 square metres. Together they form the core of the Cultural Triangle. Polonnaruwa, the second ancient capital with stone carvings that rival Angkor Wat, is close by. A Sigiriya tour package from Malaysia covers all of this with a private vehicle and an English-speaking guide who knows when to arrive before the crowds. Dhesu has been arranging Cultural Triangle journeys since 1988.