While exploring Sri Lanka I visited Sigiriya, one of Sri Lanka’s most popular sights. Sigiriya has served as a shelter, palace, monastery, castle, and rock fortress since prehistoric times. Today, all that is left are the remains and foundations of the gardens, reservoirs, and structures that were built there over time.
Sigiriya is a giant rock that seems very out of place as it rises out of the flat landscape surrounding it. The rock itself is the hardened magma plug of an extinct volcano who’s sides have long since eroded away. Its located almost in the center of Sri Lanka and has a long and complicated history since its been habited by many different civilizations and kingdoms. Nobody is exactly sure who built what or when.
Whoever built Sigiriya planned it very well and the site is considered one of the best and first examples of urban planning. There are several water retaining structures designed to catch rainwater and store it for irrigation of the surrounding land or to be used during draughts. The grounds also exhibit planned use of symmetry and asymmetry in its design.
The gardens around Sigiriya are considered to be some of the oldest planned gardens in the world. There are water gardens which consist of pools, island, streams, lakes, moats and even gravity fountains that still work today. I was lucky enough to visit after several days of heavy rain (in fact it was still raining a little while I was there) and was able to see water flow from the top of the rock all the way to the channels at the bottom of the water gardens. There are also cave and boulder gardens connected by winding pathways. Many of the boulders had steps carved into them hundreds of years ago and some were made into pavilions or audience halls. Leading up the base of the rock are also terraced gardens.
After a nice stroll through the gardens I came to the base of the giant rock and here is where the real fun began! It was more or less straight up stairs and scaffolding all the way to the top. After climbing a spiral staircase halfway up the rock there are some ancient frescos that are still clearly visible. Its believed that at one time huge areas of the side of the rock were covered in beautiful paintings but now they have since eroded away. The frescos are now guarded by armed guards because of their historical value. It was hard for me to imagine how these frescos were painted on basically a vertical cliff without modern fall protection!
Next on the path is the “mirror wall".” This wall is made of a special type of porcelain and was polished so heavily that it is believed the king could see his reflection as he walked by. Now, to me, it just looked like a normal concrete wall. But its covered in graffiti and poems, some of which dates back to the 8th century!
After the Mirror Wall I came to the Lion Gate. This was the impressive entrance to the palace a king built on top of the rock. From the Lion Gate it was iron stairways straight up the side of the rock with a shear drop to the bottom. While I walked up I could see the ancient stairway carved into the rock. Just looking at it and thinking about going up the cliff without a metal handrail was a little terrifying!
Once I got to the top of the rock I was rewarded with a breathtaking 360 degree view. It was still a little cloudy and overcast but there was still plenty to see, especially when their were gaps in the clouds as they passed through the peak of Sigiriya. I expected the top to be really windy but it was actually very calm. However, when I got close to the edge of the top the wind really picked up! The summit of Sigiriya is where an ancient king built his palace almost 2000 years ago. Now nothing is left but the foundations but I could tell that it must have been a really awesome place to live.
Overall I think Sigiriya was one of my favorite places to visit in Sri Lanka. The combination of ancient history and legends with regal gardens, a really cool looking mountain and breathtaking views makes it a very special place.