SRI LANKA // Rising sheer from surrounding plains, the grand outcrop of Sigiriya (Lion Rock) is perhaps Sri Lanka's most dramatic sight. Clamber up gravity-defying staircases past the huge stone lion paws that mark the old palace gateway, and the near-vertical rock walls eventually yield to a flat summit containing the ruins of an ancient civilisation, as well as spellbinding vistas. The surrounding landscape lily-pad-covered moats, water gardens and quiet shrines - only adds to Sigiriya's charm.