Habarana, Sri Lanka

There's a poster on the underground advertising Sri Lanka that I've passed a fair few times over the past six months. It's a picture of a huge rock called Sigiriya, sitting directly in the heart of Sri Lanka's cultural triangle and is denoted by UNESCO as one of the Wonders of the World. It is also pretty much the midway point of our holiday, and I've been particularly looking forward to visiting it as one of the highlights of our trip.

The drive is only 15 minutes from our hotel and we set off before 9am to avoid the worst of the heat as it involves a huge amount of exertion to get to the top. Kingsley shows us quickly around the museum at the entrance to the site but wisely tells us he'll meet us back at the car in a couple of hours, rather than make the 370 metre ascent himself and, as we climb step after step we don't blame him.

We pass initially through formal gardens laid out geometrically with lily-covered ponds and moats along a central avenue and soon after come towards the first of the white quartz steps at the base of the ancient rock, which was formed from the hardened magma of a long vanished volcano millions of years ago.

Passing through two huge boulders that form a natural arch, we're already sweating profusely before we get started and from then on it's a case of putting one foot in front of the other, as we climb the thousands of steps ahead of us.

The first point of cultural significance comes by the Mirrored Wall, so-called as it's a huge slab of polished stone cutting a seam into the rock visible from miles distant as it reflects the sunlight. Above it, reached by clambering a spiral staircase are some perfectly preserved frescos of women, most of them topless. Only 12 of the original 625 remain but they are beautiful to behold.

In the museum earlier, Kingsley had described how they had been painted using a form of colouring that was permanent upon application, so any mistake remains. "Look at their tits," he announced boldly. "If they are wearing clothes on their tits it is because their tits are in the wrong place and the artist painted clothes over the tits to cover his mistake."

It's very odd to hear our well-spoken guide be quite so blunt, but then we realised he actually meant nipples. And indeed, the ones with drapes of clothing over their breasts do have misaligned nipples or, in one case, a hand in the wrong position that has been covered up and redrawn.

We continue on, by now Coman's vertigo starting to take hold, but the staggering views give him the impetus to continue and soon we come to the impressive structure that gives the rock its name: two huge lion's paws that form the entrance to the summit. The paws are all that remains from a huge lion that used to be there, an ancient sphinx, and the steps leading us onwards originally went up through the throat of the lion.

This final ascent is the most steep with just a small handrail to grasp and it is with deep breaths and a lot of nerve that Coman makes it to the very top, but Oh. My. God… it is worth it! Laid out before us are the remains of what some people believe are a royal palace, and others a Buddhist monastery, but all agree are 1500 years old.

Legend has it that towards the end of the 5th Century AD, King Kassapa built a palace at the summit of the rock where he could rule unassailably with views that stretch to eternity. There’s no real proof that this was a regal seat but it was definitely used as a monastery until the 14th century, when it was suddenly abandoned. The British archaeologist HCP Bell discovered the ruins in 1898 and excavations started in 1907.

There are structures and gardens, terraces and pools and the kind of heart-stopping, jaw-dropping views that leave you speechless. It genuinely is spectacular, Sri Lanka’s very own cross between Uluru and Macchu Picchu, and worth every second of the draining climb. All that is left is to descend in the ever-rising temperatures.

We’re back at the hotel before the real heat of midday, and spend a couple of hours enjoying the pool before our next adventure begins; a jeep safari in the surrounding national park to view the wild elephants. It’s a bumpy ride, travelling through jungle and dirt tracks, careering off-road and through bush-land, but the experience of seeing wild elephants grazing and moving through the natural scenery is worth it.

Of course, we’re not the only tourists on safari and at times there are up to ten jeeps all pulling up alongside these magnificent creatures, but they trundle on, aware of us noisy intruders but choosing to ignore us as each family grouping wanders along their way, some with baby calves close to their mothers and others in more mature groups.

After our previous elephant experiences on this trip, it’s wonderful to at last see them free and wild, both up close and from a distance. It’s a fitting end to our time in Habarana and once back at Cinnamon Lodge we pack and have dinner once more at the Lotus Restaurant by the pool.

Tomorrow we drive to Kandy on a Buddhist pilgrimage of sorts, hoping to experience all that we can before the potential Election Day curfew is imposed.