While the Sigiriya tourist site is well-lit and secure from elephants, Pidurangala is part of a wildlife sanctuary and not cleared of wild elephants. “Sigiriya, being the country’s largest tourist attraction and a sustainable tourist destination, needs the particular attention of the SLTDA if a sustainable solution is to be achieved,” said Janaka Dunusinghe, former president of the Sri Lanka Institute of National Tourist Guide Lecturers’ Institute. The authorities have turned a blind eye to the human-elephant conflict in the Sigiriya area. “Two years before, there was a similar attack by a wild elephant that seriously wounded a tourist,” said a resident of the area. A three-wheeler driver in the area also attested that a few weeks before, a farmer was attacked by a wild elephant, and a three-wheeler was also damaged.

Source: Sunday Times February 21, 2026 19:53 UTC