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.