Sigiriya Riverside Villa: Budget stay review

While I was scanning for a budget stay in Sigiriya on booking.com, Sigiriya Riverside villa caught my attention- it showed tree houses, claimed a river next to the property and was in budget- some 25 USD onwards per night. Though it was about 2kms from the Lion Rock and there were other properties close by, I selected Sigiriya Riverside villa to experience tree house and a relaxed stay next to the river.  Overall I am fairly satisfied with the property- this post shares detailed review for your consideration, when you're hunting for a place to stay in Sigiriya.

Sigiriya is full of small home stays. We saw more than 100+ boards displaying home stay and accommodation options all around Sigiriya. I can’t really tell you which one is best because I’ve stayed in only 1, but you should ideally select one that is closer to Sigiriya Lion rock and or Sigiriya town. Too far, you’ll have to depend on tuk tuk or your hired van. Of course do check the photos, reviews and ratings.

Above: Exterior view of Sigiriya Riverside villa 

Below: The 'river' next to Sigiriya Riverside villa- I would just call it a stream

Sigiriya Riverside villa where we stayed had 3 rooms- a river facing tree house, a garden facing tree house and a standard room. Because we were 6, I had the opportunity to book all the 3 rooms, hence can give you a detailed feedback on what to expect in which room. An additional standard room was under construction.

The River facing Treehouse-

These were not really a tree house in real sense- they aren’t situated on a tree, but made with wood and bricks in an elevated platform. The river facing treehouse had 3 beds and one fan. For accessing bathroom one has to climb down


Above: View from window of river facing tree house
Below: The bathroom at ground level under the bedroom, access from inside the bedroom via stairs

Above: Hammock to relax next to treehouse
Below: A lone table fan mounted on a pole providing air



Above: 3rd bed in river facing treehouse- note- no fan & very basic construction.
Below: View of the river from balcony

The garden facing treehouse also has river right infront.


So both have rivers so close. If you need room with 3 beds you can select river facing, else garden facing. The garden facing treehouse has direct entry via bathroom- you enter bathroom area in ground floor and climb up using stairs to access beds. This is slightly more convenient to access/use compared to the other treehouse where you’ve to climb up first and climb down into bathroom to access.

Both tree houses shake a bit if someone is climbing and is made of bare minimum materials. So keep your expectations right. Mosquito net is provided and a power socket with adapter was great. But light was not strong enough to read, floor has gaps and other such short falls. I am not complaining, just familiarizing you with what exactly to expect. For elderly people and small kids climbing up and down will be bit difficult task

Standard room is a good option if you’re not very keen on tree house experience and just need a place to stay. Standard room is next to a spacious hall and a balcony with comfortable chairs. Standard room is the cheapest of 3 room types.

This is a budget stay- we were provided with decent veg breakfast. Also they helped us with cooking rice for dinner with the raw rice we had carried.

Sigiriya Riverside villa didn’t have any driver accommodation, but half a kms away we god a driver accommodation in the main road for 1000 LKR per day.

The other things you should be aware of

Crocodile- One of family members spotted a crocodile in the river next to the cottage. Crocodile moved away on seeing humans but when reported, the owner lady was cool about it. Looks like locals are aware of presence of crocodile in the river- many of them take bath in the river and live as if there’s no danger from crocodile. I am guessing even crocodile doesn’t intend to hunt humans and isn’t a real threat as such. But yes, the safety issue need to be factored.

Our hosts Chaminda and the lady were very accommodating. They did help us with rice cooking (we had carried some rice) as we didn't get proper food. They served breakfast- which was included in the room rent- was decent- a type of roti and coconut gratings as chutney were provided. This place is about half km from main road, around 2 kms from Sigiriya Lions rock and few kms away from town.

Overall I suggest you can consider Sigiriya Riverside villa for your budget stay in Sigiriya. Standby for review of other properties we stayed.

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