Travel+ Lanka: Sigiriya Rock Fortress and City

Sigiriya (Lion Rock ) is an ancient palace located in the central Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. This site was selected by King Kasyapa (477 – 495 CE) for his new capital. He built his palace on the top of this rock and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes. On a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. Sigiriya today is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site. It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning.^[2] It is the most visited historic site in Sri Lanka.

^{I would like to
share some remarkable photos that I took while on the trip to Sigirya .}

The Gardens

The Gardens of the Sigiriya city are one of the most important aspects of the site, as it is among the oldest landscaped gardens in the world. The gardens are divided into three distinct but linked forms: water gardens, cave and boulder gardens, and terraced gardens.

The Mirror Wall

Originally this wall was so highly polished that the king could see himself whilst he walked alongside it. Made of brick masonry wall and covered in highly polished white plaste. People of all types wrote on the wall, on varying subjects such as love, irony, and experiences of all sorts Many of these writings on the Mirror Wall belongs to the time period between the 7th and the 11th Centuries AD. Further writing on the mirror wall now has been banned for the protection of old writings of the wall.

The Sigiriya Frescoes

The Sigiriya Paintings are found on about the halfway height of the Sigiriya western rock face, or about 100 meters from the base of the rock. These are found on the rock face cut inside to create a depression about 70 feet lengthwise.

Terrace of the Lion Staircase

It is thought, that the name Sigiriya, meaning the Lion Rock must have been derived from the fact that there was a gigantic Lion statue constructed so that the rock resembled a Lion figure. From whatever the original lion statue, only two of its huge paws are remaining now on the Northern side of the rock.