Everything You Need to Know About Sigiriya
Sigiriya is often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world thanks to the sheer brilliance of King Kashyapa I who constructed a fortress that is even today holding engineers and architects in awe.
Introduction
The fortress, its gardens and palaces were constructed by Kashyapa in the 5th century after he usurped the throne from his father and forced his brother, the rightful heir into exile.
The Fortress
The fortress is mostly in ruins today, but you can still see how magnificent it must have been in its heyday. If local visitors stay in Sinharaja hotels, visiting Sigiriya would take a quick car ride. The ruins are spectacular and make for a great trek up the gardens.
The Water Gardens
The water gardens were created in a way where they were gravity fed from springs on the Lion rock and designed so that they could be flooded in case of invasion. There are several pools and ponds all shaped in distinct ways to create what must have been a magnificent spectacle.
Lion Rock
The inner citadel is the actual spectacle, the Lion Rock juts out of the centre of the fortress and leads up a precarious array of steps to the top where stand the spectacular ruins of Kashayapa’s palaces.
The Murals
There are also the beautiful and breath-taking murals of female figures painted on the face of the rock showcasing vivid colours and styles. There were originally 500 but only 20 remain today.
Stay in hotels around Sri Lanka like The Rainforest Ecolodge and visit the spectacles of Sri Lankan history and heritage.
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