A red-brown granite rock rises straight out of the jungle, about 180 metres above the plains. On its flat summit sit the ruins of a 5th-century royal palace. Halfway up, painted women still look out from the rock face after 1,500 years. This is Sigiriya, the Lion Rock, and for most travellers it is the moment Sri Lanka stops being a place on a map. Sigiriya is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the star of the island's Cultural Triangle. It is also the most expensive single tic