Since we got back from our first holiday in 11 years, I’ve felt the travel bug creeping back into my life. We talked about where we’d like to go next, and if we’d go back to places we’ve already been. S said he wouldn’t return anywhere, but I’ve been thinking a lot about Sri Lanka.

We booked that trip of a lifetime for our honeymoon in 2014. When I say it’s an unforgettable country, I mean it. It still appears in my dreams occasionally. The scenery, the animals, the lovely people.

One of the first things we looked at doing when we planned our honeymoon was climbing Sigiriya Rock. Now, if you know me you’ll be well aware I much prefer to have my feet firmly planted on the ground. I don’t have a head for heights – or exercise for that matter.

Climbing something for 3 hours in 30 degree heat? Umm, no thank you. I’ll wait here with the bags. But then I figured – screw it. It’s the one and only honeymoon I’ll ever have and most likely the only time we’ll go to Sri Lanka.

When I researched climbing Sigiriya, it did make me want to backtrack. Photos and videos make it look super ropey. Sheer drops, metal stairs bolted onto the side, and no hope of turning back if it all got too much.

I searched blog posts and YouTube videos of people who had climbed before and all said the same thing – it’s very high. Shit.

So I did it anyway. Yes!

Honestly, it’s not as bad as it looks in pictures (I learnt about the ladder of inference recently and how it can create a sort of perspective bias – it’s fascinating). Climbing Sigiriya Rock isn’t the easiest thing to do when you hate heights, and I did have a couple of wobbly knee moments, but the main thing you have to do is breathe and push forward. Trust me, the view at the top is so worth it.

What’s climbing Sigiriya Rock really like?

When you first get there, you walk through the ruins of the gardens and pools. The rock looks so intimidating from this angle, but conquering it is the best feeling. Once you get to the base of the rock, you start climbing steps straight away. They’re pretty steep, but it’s not rock steps all the way up. You walk through a bit more garden (uphill) and come to a sign with this on it:

Yeeeah hornets aren’t my bag either. We didn’t hang around this bit for long.

Once you’re here you take a look back at the bottom of the rock and go “fuckin’ell how high’s that already!” That little climb from the gardens puts you high enough already to see across Sigiriya. And my god is it an amazing view. This country really is a beauty.

Then comes the metal spiral staircases up to the frescoes. I have to say, all the dodgy-looking scaffolding along the side of the rock didn’t help my nerves, but this part is over quickly and the actual paintings are covered, so you won’t be looking out into the wide open.

The advice I can give is to take the stairs slowly and keep looking ahead/up. On the way down, do the same but look at where your feet are stepping – it’s the only way to stop yourself from looking at the view below if you’re scared of it!

What’s the deal with this huge rock anyway?

Next you’ll walk past the mirror wall, which doesn’t look as impressive now as I’m sure it was when it was built over 1,600 years ago by King Kashyapa. But I guess that’s what you get when you overthrow your dad and have to build your palace at the top of a rock. A disappointing wall and 5 empty swimming pools.

After the mirror wall, there are more stairs (of course there bloody is) to the bottom of the Lion Paws, where you can have a break and be proud of yourself for getting this far! Here’s where the cheeky monkeys like to ask for food too, so be careful if you’re trying to snack at this point!

We took a few photos at this point to prove we’d made it to the paws and spent a couple of minutes looking up at the next stage. In photos it looks huge, but trust me – the climb is more like a kitten than a lion! We looked at each other and said ‘After you?’

The steps are steep and narrow, and you are literally hanging from a cliff face, but you’re not looking down the whole of the rock – just the flat plain you just came from. If you take it slow and steady, you’ll get up there just fine.

Stop and take some photos or a bit of video and you’ll enjoy it that bit more. I love looking through our photos and being proud of myself for stopping and taking stock of the view.

It took us 6 minutes to climb the last bit. SIX MINUTES! I thought it would take us at least twenty. And once at the top, we were speechless. The view from the very top is incredible. We took our time looking around – it had taken us an hour to climb the whole thing after all.

I’ve climbed Sigiriya Rock. What now?!

Once you’re ready to go down, you have to go back the way you came – yep. But you’re so excited by what you’ve just done, all the adrenaline is still flowing around your body so you just skip all the way to the bottom. There’s time for one more animal at the end of the climb too – the cobra. The Cobra Hood Cave is a rock naturally shaped like a cobra’s head and it’s home to some amazing paintings and motifs. It’s worth a look if you’re not already running back to the car!