What do you know about Lion's rock???? Or you might have heard about Sigiriya, in Sri Lanka??? Well, Sigiriya is the Lion's rock, built by King Kashyapa round 5th century BC. It is a place you must pay a visit because believe me, once you go there you won't be disappointed. Situated in the Mathale district, Sri Lanka (If you are visiting Sigiriya from another country, there are tour packs right at the air port) Sigiriya stands as an isolated rock with a height of 370m. Sigiriya is also known as the 8th wonder of the world officially declared by the UNESCO and one of the eight world heritage sites of the world in Sri Lanka.
Prince Kashyapa seized the throne from his father King Dathusena and fled in fear of his brother Mugalan; the rightful heir to the throne. He fled to Sigiriya and built this rock castle and prepared for the battle coming ahead. What amazes us is the plan and irrigation used here because King Kashyapa had used an advanced technology to get water through the rock in 5th century BC. He built 3 moats around the rock preventing enemy invasions. 
Sigiriya is not just a fortress but historic evidences and archaeological excavations show that it was one of the finest castles at that time. Even though many things were carved straightly from rock itself, King Kashyapa made sure that his castle was perfect. He built ponds and pools, white sand walks, rock gardens, sand gardens and green gardens. He turned the top of the rock into an amazing castle with completed structures of halls, royal courts, leisure palaces, ponds and many more. We can still see some of the foundation of a once magnificent palace.
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| Sigiri Frescoes |
Apart from the amazing site plan of a castle, Sigirya is famous for Sigiri frescoes. Once you get the over all rock with all the frescoes it is like an art gallery. The paintings would have covered most of the western face of the rock, covering an area 140 metres long and 40 metres high. There are references in the graffiti to 500 ladies in these paintings. However many of the paintings were lost when it was turned into a monastery. Another fascination you find in Sigiriya is the mirror wall. It was given this name because, it was believed it was so polished even the king could see his face. Today even though it is not that polished, we can see our shadows there. Since early times, people who came to visit Sigiriya had written down sigiri graffiti admiring the beauty and grandeur of Sigiriya. There are also graffiti of love, irony and other topics. However it is banned to write on the wall now.
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| Hotel Sigiriya |
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| Hotel Kandalama |
If you are planning to visit Sigiriya, do not forget to enjoy your stay at the Heritance Kandalama Hotel near by in Dambulla area. You can even get a glimpse of Sigiriya from there and believe me, Kandalama Hotel has many to give you including its eco friendly tuourism and eco friendly garbage disposal method etc. And Hotel Sigiriya which is very near the rock, has amazing views of Sigiriya you may wanna enjoy.
Visit Sigiriya...
Visit Sri Lanka.... A land like no other......
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