Home to a monastery that dates back to the 1st century BC, Pidurangala, provides a breath-taking point of view of Sigiriya and surrounding landscapes. Pidurangala is a large rock situated a couple of kilometres away from Sigiriya. The rock is home to a monastery that dates back to the 1st century BC which is now a temple. Starting the climb through the present-day temple one comes across various caves where monks still live to this day. The climb takes you through lush forests on a well-made stone made path until you reach a large statue of a reclining lord Buddha. From here onwards the path stops but one can reach the summit by following a rocky trail that will require scaling a few rocks. The view from the top of the rock provides a breath-taking point of view of Sigiriya and the surrounding landscape of forest, hills and lakes.