Sigiriya is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Sri Lanka. It’s a gigantic rock of 200m high from the forested plains below. Today it is a UNESCO listed World Heritage site and it was among the eight wonders of the world earlier.
In 5th century AD King Dhatusena declared the throne to one of his sons Moggallana, hearing this another son, Kassapa rebelled and drive away Moggallana to India and became the king by imprisoning his father. Then he built his castle on a 200 meter high Sigiriya rock expecting an invasion from his brother. The indestructive castle was built as a pleasure palace reminiscing the God of wealth, Kuwera and a city at its base. The entire castle is believed to be built in seven years from 477 to 485 AD. Finally in 491, Mogallana with the aid of India invaded Sigiriya and went into war with Kassapa. Unfortunately, Kassapa killed himself seeing the defeat. Moggallana was not interested in the rock fortress hence he handed over to the Buddhist monks as caves beneath became home for the monks for meditation in peace. However, this place was abandoned in 1155 until discovered by the British in 1822.
Highlights in Sigiriya Rock Fortress
Cave complex
Caves in the base of the rock were used by the monks as they were plastered and painted and carvings at the entrance to prevent rain water seeping inside. In Deraniyagala cave you will find inscriptions and traces of paintings. Cobra hood cave is another decorated cave with inscriptions.
Water Gardens
Beyond the entrance, the path to the rock you will enter the water garden. In the first ne section, there are four pools of square shaped and beyond that the fountain garden lies. Here some fountain sprinkles which works on a simple pressure and gravity and still operates during heavy rains. This offers a great example on hydraulic engineering knowledge in ancient times.
The Apsara Paintings
After reaching the base of the rock you will find a spiral staircase leading to the world famous frescos , popular as Sigiriya Damsels. There were thousands of paintings of beautiful ladies with flowers in their hands emerging from cloud. Now only few hundreds of paintings have been survived however the number is not clear. Experts claim these paintings are of Apsaras (celestial nymphs) or the ladies from the King Kassapas court.
Mirror Wall
Just passing the frescos, you will enter the mirror wall another world famous monument in Sigiriya. It was made coating highly polished plaster with lime, egg white, beeswax and honey to have a mirror effect. King Kassapa believed to made this in order to have some light reflection from the sun to have a cloudy effect to the fortress. However, later the walls were covered with graffiti dated to Seventh Century making a kind of a visitor book, where visitors recorded their impression of sigiriya specially their enchantment by the Sigri Apsaras.
Lion Staircase
When continuing the rock, you will enter an open space facing the huge staircase where at the base is a huge lion paws carved from the rock. All the visitors are impressed by this gigantic structure symbolising the pride reflecting King Kassapas prestige and strength.
The Place on the Top
On the top of the rock you will find the King’s upper palace and the lower palace , decorated with pools and thrones.
It is wise to start the journey in early mornings to avoid the huge crowds and as you may take whole three hours to reach the top while enjoying all the artifacts, however it’s definitely a nice travel goal for you to enjoy in a lifetime.
