Sigiriya rules and etiquette

The Sigiriya frescoes are roughly fifteen hundred years old and extremely fragile. Light, humidity, dust and touch all damage them, and they were badly vandalised in 1967. In recent years photography of any kind in the fresco gallery has been prohibited, and attendants enforce it firmly.

Rules can change, so follow the signage on the day. Never touch the painted surface, keep your voice down in the confined gallery, and move along steadily so others can see. The Sigiriya Museum shows reproductions that can be studied at leisure.

The mirror wall carries more than 1,800 graffiti from roughly the 8th to 10th centuries, some of the earliest Sinhala poetry. Touching it, writing on it or scratching it is prohibited, and damaging it is a criminal offence under Sri Lanka's antiquities law.

Visitors who have scratched their names into it in recent years have been arrested, and at least one received a prison sentence. The rule applies to every surface on the site, not just the mirror wall: do not write or carve anything anywhere at Sigiriya.

Drones are prohibited at Sigiriya without prior written permission from the relevant authorities, and permission is rarely granted for casual use. The reasons are practical: drone noise and downdraft near the rock face can disturb wasp and hornet colonies, and drones pose a privacy and safety risk to visitors on the stairways.

Do not fly a drone from outside the boundary towards the rock either. Assume the answer is no unless you hold written confirmation before you arrive.

Some Sigiriya rules exist for visitor safety. Keep noise down on the upper stairs and at the lion's paw terrace, where wasp and hornet colonies nest, and do not smoke. Stay on the marked route, which is largely one-way on the narrow stairways. Follow staff instructions immediately during closures or wasp activity.

Do not climb outside the railings, sit on the edge of the summit or lean over drops for photographs. Several parts of the summit have unguarded edges.

Beyond the formal rules, a few habits make Sigiriya better for everyone. On narrow stairs, step aside at landings rather than stopping mid-flight. Let faster climbers pass. Keep music off.

Do not feed the monkeys, which become aggressive and bag-snatching when fed. Take every piece of litter, including fruit peel, away with you. And remember that for many Sri Lankan visitors Sigiriya is a place of national pride; treat it accordingly.

Sigiriya itself is an archaeological site, but nearby Pidurangala and the Dambulla cave temple are active religious places. Cover shoulders and knees, remove shoes and hats where signed, and never pose with your back to a Buddha image, which is considered disrespectful.

Lankan Stays & Trails briefs every traveller on these points before a Cultural Triangle day, because unintentional disrespect at temples is the most common problem visitors encounter, and the easiest to avoid.