Another famous tourist destination. The best place to ensure
the rich culture of
Little bit from the History (just leave this para, if you
feel shiftless...)
This was built by King “Kashyapa”. He killed his father to
get the kingship early. Kashyapa had a brother called “Mugalan” and he was very
angry about this. He went away from the palace with challenging Kashyapa that
one day he would come back with an army. Kashyapa knew that his brother had a
great military knowledge and therefore he wanted to ensure his security. Then
he built this fortress. (However it is said that his brother gained the victory
later)
Sigiriya is situated in Mathale District, about 40 miles
away from Anuradhapura
Sigiriya rock has a unique shape: the ones who know it well
can easily recognize it from far away, even from the central province. (When
you are climbing the Hill country, you will pass “Kadugannawa” and there is a
‘site watching place’ near Kadugannawa. You can recognize this rock even from
there)
When you enter to the garden, don’t rush to climb! There are
many things to watch first. Just take a 360’ turn! You can understand how biggy
the garden is! Yeah, probably I could say a Garden Complex :). It is true if I
say, this is one of the oldest landscaped gardens in the world.
As this is a fortress, the garden is not only for beauty! The
garden can be divided to 3 sections and each of them is surrounded by drains.
First section is just the beauty. Second one has few security features and the
last section is totally a mess of Security! There were even some Crocodiles in
the drains of the last section of the garden (Don’t worry, see I just used
“were” :P )
When you are climbing, there are some places that you should
wait and enjoy. Sigiriya Frescoes and The mirror wall are few of them.
<Frescoes>
King Kashyapa was a fine artist. Sigiriya frescoes prove
that. These frescoes were drawn on the
whole face of the hill. According to researches, these are painted in 8th
century and still in good form (even with colors). Researchers also said that
there are many similarities between these and “Ajantha” Paintings in India
One the way to top, there is a wall called mirror wall, a
wall made with polished stones. Some say this was to cheat the invading armies.
However the graffiti written on the mirror wall by visitors later are wonderfully
composed and it seems like most of them had composed poems with the impression
of Frescoes.
Before entering to the peak, you will come to some sort of
floor. There you can see the paws of a huge Lion. You won’t see the head of the
lion, because it was missing since a long time ago :( .
Creep through those paws to climb up.
At the top of the rock you can see the ruins of a palace.
Can you believe; how the building materials were taken to the top of the rock
is still unknown, because even with the modern machinery it is difficult to
reach such a rocky height :). That is the main reason to consider this as the 8th
wonder of the world.
Well, I think this place is really suitable for taking
Panorama shots.. so try that too..
Location : Central Province
Known for : Rock fortress, Frescoes, Graffiti,
Geographical coordinates: 7° 57' 0" North, 80° 45'
0" East
Climate : Sunny (usually)
Challenge from me : I just mentioned above a spot in
Kadugannawa where you can watch this rock clearly. When your car stops at that
place… try to recognize it yourself :D
CAUTION: There are some hives of honey bees in few places in
the rock. DON’T DO ANYTHING THAT CAN PROVOKE THEM. (even your drastic perfume
or a cigarette could stir up them)
Gallery
The rock from far away
Little bit closer..
The Garden Complex
A Section in the Garden
Paws of the Lion
Climbing up!
Peak
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