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Sigiriya

Sigiriya should have been named one of the Wonders of the World, long ago, and now it has been proposed to name it as the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient world.
Sigirya is situated in the district of matale around 183 KM from Colombo.
Sigiriya is also knows as Lions Rock because according to the old saying, in the past you need to walk through the wide open mouth of lion to get there. And also at the below level the two very big lions claws give way to final and most important stage of the complex, the palace. The other most imporatant feature of Sigiriya are the fifth century painting found in the deepression of the rock. A series of galleries and staircases emerging from the mouth of a gigantic lion constructed of bricks and plaster provide access to the site.
Some sources even say that the whole western face of the rock used to be covered with these paintings (of 500 women).

Sigiriya History

Sigiriya was created by King Kasyapa who reigned between 477-495 AD. The meeting of this almost inaccessible rock is 180 m (600 ft) above the surrounding jungle, and was the setting for a chivalrous paradise of well-designed pavilions in the midst of gardens and pools. The rock was transformed into a recumbent lion by the addition of a brick-built head and foreparts of which only the paws remain. The rock's natural defences were augmented by large moats and stone boundary walls. In the event of an enemy approach, the outer moat was built so as to flood the entire area between the two moats.

Sigiriya comes dramatically, if tragically, into the political history of Sri Lanka in the last quarter of the fifth century during the reign of King Dhatusena I (459-477 A.D.), who ruled from the ancient capital at Anuradhapura. A palace takeover by Prince Kasyapa, the king’s son by a non-royal consort, and Migara, the king’s nephew and army commander, led ultimate to the seizure of the throne and the subsequent execution of Dhatusena, Kasyapa, much reviled for his patricide, established a new capital at Sigiriya, while the crown prince, his half-brother Moggallana, went into exile in India, Kasyapa I (477-495 A.D.) and his master-builders gave the site its present name, ‘ Sinha-giri’ or ‘ Lion- Mountain’, and were responsible for most of the structures and the complex plan that we see today. In brief you can say Kasyapan phase was the golden age of Sigiriya.

The post-Kasyapan phase when Sigiriya was turned back into a Buddhist monastery, seem to have lasted until the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Sigiriya then disappears for a time from the history of Sri Lanka until, in the sixteenth and centuries, it appears again as a distant outpost and military center of the kingdom of Kandy. In the mid-nineteenth century antiquarians begin to take an interest in the site, followed some decades later by archaeologists, who have now been working there for nearly 100 years, since the 1890s.

The Cultural Triangle project began its work at Sigiriya in 1982 and has focused attention not only on the best-known and most striking aspects of Sigiriya: the royal complex of rock, palace, gardens and fortifications of the ‘western precinct’, but also on the entire city and its rural surrounding area.

Sigiriya What to See

The Water Gardens of Sigriya
The terraced gardens slope down to the boulder gardens and then to the geometrically laid out water gardens, with running water and fountains, pools and ponds, aquatic flowers and birds, and tropical trees. The entire water garden is in a walled enclosure.
The miniature water garden was discovered not long ago. It has winding waterways, shallow reflecting pools, cobbled watercourses, marbled floors and an intricate layer of tiled roof buildings.
Adjacent to this is a central island surrounded by four L-shaped water pools. These pools appear to have been used as bathing pools. These had polished walls, flights of steps and surrounding terraces - similar to a modern-day swimming pool.
There are fountains fed by water under gravitational pressure from the artificial Sigiriya Lake. Symmetrically perforated limestone plates fashion their spouts. These fountains operate in rainy weather even today.
An octagonal pool is set at the transition point from the water gardens to the boulder gardens. It is surrounded by a wide terrace, which follows its shape. A gigantic boulder almost the height of a six-storey building shelters the pool.
The Boulder Gardens
Picturesque boulders of various sizes can be found here. These are linked together by winding pathways and paved passages, with boulder arches and limestone stairways. The honeycombed holes on these boulders are merely footings for brick and timber edifices. These boulders also have fascinating rock carvings.
Audience Hall
This is an enormous split boulder. The fallen half of the boulder is known as the Audience Hall Rock, a 5 m (16 ft) long carved throne facing a levelled square. The standing half is a water reservoir, dug into the rock - hence its name, Cistern Rock.
Cobra Hood Cave
This is thus named because of its shape. Its painted ceiling is dated back to the period of King Kasyapa (5th Century AD). It is however believed, that Buddhist monks from as early as the 3rd Century BC used this cave.
Preaching Rock
Its tiered platforms are believed to have been used by monks to deliver orations.
The Terraced Gardens
Merging with the boulder gardens are the terraced gardens, with each terrace rising above the other. Impressive brick-built staircases with limestone steps traverse the terraces, providing access to the uppermost terrace and onwards to the Sigiriya Rock itself.
The Lions Platform
Mirror Wall
Above the Lion's Platform and beneath the fresco pockets is a highly polished Mirror Wall. Coated with polished lime, this wall reflects like glass. Scribbled on the surface of the Mirror Wall are nearly 1,500 pieces of prose and poetry composed by the ancient visitors who flocked to Sigiriya from all over the island. These poems were written between the 7th and 13th centuries. They are said to be Sri Lanka's oldest graffiti.
Frescoes
These are one of the highlights of Sigiriya. These figures of women are depicted as rising from clouds and are known as "the cloud damsels". They are depicted in three quarter profile. Shown in three quarter profile, the paintings have striking diversity in mood and personality, face and body, clothes and make-up. Flowers are used in profusion in their hair, in baskets and in various forms. Originally, there were over 500 paintings drawn across the face of Sigiriya Rock forming a gigantic gallery of paintings. This covered an area almost twice as large as a football field. These paintings may perhaps have been the largest murals ever attempted by man. However, only 23 of these remain today.
The Palace on the Summit
The inner palace occupies the higher western sections. The outer palace occupies the lower eastern sections and the palace gardens cover the south. They all converge on a large and lovely rock-cut pool, probably used for water storage. This 3 acre site is stupendous and the view is breathtaking with its thousands of marbled steps and walkways.
The Royal Gardens
One of the major foci of the Cultural Triangle excavations has been the Sigiriya gardens. Sigiriya provides us with a unique and relatively little known example of what is one of the oldest landscaped gardens in the world, whose skeletal layout and significant features are still in a fair state of preservation.
Three distinct but interlinked forms are found here: water gardens, cave and boulder gardens, and stepped or terraced gardens encircling the rock. A combination of these three garden types is also seen in the palace gardens on the summit of the rock.

Getting There

It is possible to rent a car in Sri Lanka but most people don't bother as the roads are poor and the driving conditions challenging. It is very economical to hire a driver in Sri Lanka to take you around the island and all our drivers are experienced English-speaking guides.

	Taj Mahal
	Adams Bridge
	Konark Temple
	Lotus Temple
	Agra Fort
	Brihadeshwara Temple
	Ajanta Caves
	Ellora Caves
	Red Fort

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