Sundowner Magazine: Spring/Summer 2020

SRI LANKA
ROCKING
YOUR WORLD
NOW IS THE TIME TO GO BACK TO SRI LANKA.
ELUSIVE WILDLIFE, HISTORIC SITES, AND LUSH
TEA PLANTATIONS: THE ISLAND'S APPEAL IS
TRANSCENDENT. BUT GO SOON BEFORE EVERYONE
ELSE DOES, SAYS SARAH MARSHALL
Carved from a solitary plateau rising 200 metres from the
jungle floor, King Kasyapa I’s mesmerising fortress is
stately even by royal standards. An opulent complex of
sky-high bathing pools and majestic fountains fed by monsoon
rain, it’s a site better suited to a religious deity than a monarch.
Although ancient frescoes of bare-chested women presenting
platters of fruit and toying suggestively with lotus flowers suggest
hedonism was the ruling spirit worshipped here.
But the silhouettes that once rippled in water features have
been washed away by 1,500 years of history, leaving only the
reflections of a cloudless sky. Today, one of Sri Lanka’s most
popular tourist attractions is surprisingly empty, and when a
handful of tourists disappear into the belly of a stone lion that
lends this place its name, I have Sigiriya (or Lion) Rock and its
hypnotising views all to myself.
For the past few years, this Indian Ocean island had been
riding high on a wave of tourism. Enticed by palm-fringed
beaches, a fascinating culture, and exotic wildlife, visitor numbers
were booming. But on 21 April last year, everything ground to a
halt. Targeting hotels and churches, the Easter Sunday terrorist
attacks were devastating, creating shock waves which would
continue to do harm for months.
The British Foreign Office joined 26 countries in issuing a
travel ban, which was finally relaxed in June 2019. For hoteliers
and drivers employed in tourism, the news couldn’t have come
soon enough.
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