Locations — Sigiriya
Pidurangala at sunrise is the most requested proposal spot in Sri Lanka and it has earned it: you climb in the dark, the light comes up over Sigiriya rock across the plain, and for about forty minutes it is gold and nearly empty.
Pidurangala at sunrise is the most requested proposal spot in Sri Lanka and it has earned it: you climb in the dark, the light comes up over Sigiriya rock across the plain, and for about forty minutes it is gold and nearly empty.
I'm Yehen Fernando, a wedding and couple photographer based in Kandy. I shoot couple sessions, surprise proposals and pre-shoots in Sigiriya and across Sri Lanka. Traveller sessions start at USD 180; wedding collections at LKR 125,000. Travel to Sigiriya: USD 50 for traveller sessions. For wedding collections, see the packages page.
Where to shoot
And roughly when each of them works.
The view back at Sigiriya. A proper scramble near the top, so wear something you can climb in and carry the nice shoes up.
Sunrise — leave before 5am
Low trees framing the rock, long grass, and almost nobody around once you step off the path.
Early morning or late afternoon
Dramatic as a backdrop rather than a place to shoot on — the stairways are narrow and busy, and there is a significant entrance fee.
As a backdrop, any time
Shot in Sigiriya
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Sigiriya
For Pidurangala, yes. By eight o’clock the light is flat and the top is full of people, which is no good for a shoot and hopeless for a surprise proposal.
Somewhere in Sigiriya or Dambulla the night before — a sunrise shoot here is not something you can drive to from Kandy on the morning. That overnight stay is yours to arrange.
Yes, and it is where I have done most of them. I go up before you, I look like another traveller with a camera, and I am already shooting before you turn around.
Elsewhere on the island
Tell me where you'll be staying and I'll come to you.
Let's begin
Send me your dates and where you're staying. I'll come straight back about whether I'm free.