SIGIRIYA

Sigiriya is in Matale District of Sri Lanka. It is one of the most popular tourist site in Sri Lanka. Also one of the eight World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka, it has also been declared by UNESCO as the 8th Wonder of the World.

Name of sigiriya is derived from this structure —Sīhāgiri, the Lion Rock. The capital and the royal palace was left after the king's death. Later it was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century.

Sigiriya is famous for its palace ruins on top of a massive 200 meter high rock surrounded by the remains of its gardens, reservoirs and other structures. The rock itself is a lava plug left over from an old long extinct volcano.

The King constructed lavish gardens and for protection a moat with ramparts surrounded the complex.

Frescoes attracts the western side of the rock, along with the mirror wall, a brick face covered in a highly-polished white plaster. When it was newly constructed, it was said to be that it produces reflections.

Over time the Mirror Wall became a graffiti (kurutu ghii) board, covered in verses scribbled by visitors. Known as “Sigiri Graffiti,” some of the messages date to the 8th century.

“බුදල්මි. සියොවැ ආමි. සිගිරි බැලිමි. බැලු බැලු බොහො දනා ගී ලීලුයෙන් නොලීමි.”

Rough translation: “I am Budal. I came alone to see Sigiriya. Since all the others wrote poems, I did not!”

The message isn’t revelatory but if offers an insight to centuries-old human thought. Budal’s comment is not far off from what a visitor might offer today.

A pocket in the Cobra Hood Cave is home to beautiful paintings of Sinhalese maidens performing various tasks. The maidens have escaped exposure to the elements for more than a millennium in the rock’s natural cavity.

The paintings are believed to be over 1,500 years old, and while the true significance is unknown, there are multiple theories. Some believe the maidens display religious rituals while others believe the images immortalize the many wives of the king.

The Fortress Today, even though the entire fortress is in ruins, it is the only major attraction that the town of Sigiriya boasts of. However, the area in which the ruins are set is very picturesque and the climb up to the summit brings many pleasant surprises for the trekker. Also being declared a World Heritage Site has helped put the place on the tourist map. The Moat around the fortress is the first thing that you will hit on your visit to the fortress. The remains of the ancient water body are visible in places.

 In 1831 Europeans accidentally discovered Sigiriya. Jonathan Forbes – a major of the British army discovered it on his way from Polonnaruwa – a city in central Sri Lanka.

Be prepared for a decent, energetic climb at this iconic Sri Lankan site. The climb up the rock and back down will take anywhere from 1.5 hours to 3 hours.

We don’t know whether Sigiriya was a fortified stronghold, a place of meditation and worship, or a pleasure palace for a playboy king.

We do know Kashyapa overthrew Dhatusena, finished building and later occupied Sigiriya, and ultimately perished during battle at the site.

King Kashyapa was a very small part of history in Sri Lanka, but the permanence of his rock palace is a testament to the brilliance of early Sinhalese engineering and design. While the Dark Ages plunged Europe into a dearth of culture, Sri Lanka was flourishing.

Ridiyagama safari park

As a country that has been internationally recognised, Sri Lanka is a must-visit destination for tourists. Its climate, sea beaches, magnificent waterfalls and other beauty of nature proves its uniqueness. Making use of these treasures, Sri Lanka recently opened its first safari park to give a new experience for all nature lovers.

One of the most important places to visit in a trip to Katharagama. Though it is still under construction you can have a feeling of going in a safari in Sri Lanka. It is exciting to see world largest lions in their natural habitats.

Situated in Ridiyagama, a town of Sooriyawewa in the Hambantota district, this park is a 500 acre of land which is managed under the supervision of the Department of National Zoological Gardens.

Environment in this safari park provides a perfect natural setting to the animals, with a lot of trees and shrubs. It gives the impression that the whole area is an open jungle unless one spot the perimeter protective walls.

Currently there are three zones in operation, which include the Lion zone, World Herbivore zone and the Asian elephant zone. The animals move around freely in their respective zones and are protected by automated gate systems to minimize the risk to humans.

At the moment there is only one lion and two lionesses in this 35 acre of land. But additionally they have 5 more lions that will be eventually added to the zone after the existing ones mark their territories. 

The World Herbivore zone comprise of different animals including zebra, African buffaloes, ostrich, camel, hippos, donkeys, different types of deer and Arabian oryx. In addition to that many other species endemic to Sri Lanka including monkeys, wild boar, spotted deer and palm civets can be found. During the season, one can also find around 55 different species of butterflies and 100 odd species of birds. 

Spanning 54 acres this zone is still being developed. At present only three elephants can be found but in time to come the zone will have around 10 of them. 

All zones are preserved as natural habitats that these animals can survive in. However for security reasons, there are 16 feet tall gates surrounding the park in addition to an 8KW electric fence. Remote control gates operate between each zone.  Since it is an open air zoo, the management has taken all necessary steps to ensure the safety of the visitors.

 Hence, there are certain rules and regulations which the visitors should strictly follow as listed below: 

· Visitors cannot tour around the park in their own private vehicles

· A bus service operates every half an hour and visitors are expected to stay at the platform 

· Visitors shouldn’t get down from the bus at any point until the ride is over 

· Photographs can be taken 

· Visitors should always keep the environment clean.

Later the World Herbivore zone will be divided in to African, Asian and Sri Lankan zones. In addition to that an Australian herbivore zone, a Bengali tiger zone, a leopard and a sloth bear too are yet to be opened in the near future. 

The animal kingdom consists of different species and at a Safari park, one would just not want to see all animals in a zoo, therefore the management has also taken steps to introduce a small animal kingdom and a reptile zone as well.

                       Aberdeen waterfall

 Aberdeen waterfall is one of the most attractive waterfalls in Sri Lanka.

 Its a great waterfall situated in an unfrequented place by tourists and definitely worth seeing.

Aberdeen Falls is 322 feet high on the Kehelgamu River near Ginigathena in Nuwara Eliya. It is ranked as the 18th highest waterfall in Sri lanka.

Aberdeen falls is located 115km from the Colombo and 6km from Nuwara aliya in the Kehelgamuwa mountain range, which surrounds an area of Ginigathhena, Norton Bridge, Lakshapana and Maskeliya.

To reach Aberdeen Falls from Ginigathena, one must proceed along Ambatale Road up to the Buddha statue at the end of the road. Then should walk about 1.2 km along the road.

The waterfall  is a part of the Kehelgamuwa River which joins the Maskeli River at Kalugala before it flow into the ocean through the Kelani River. 

Unfortunately, the Norton Bridge dam which was constructed under the Lakshapana Project has decreased the volume of water in the waterfall. They say that there is a tunnel leading from Aberdeen Falls to the neighbouring Lakshapana Falls and the opening of it can be seen near the Puna River.

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