Sigiriya is an ancient rock fortress located near the town of Dambulla in Sri Lanka is a popular UNESCO World heritage site and is known as one of the greatest inventions of ancient engineers and artisans.
I was really very much excited for this trek and have read about it so much. It’s a common notion that if you are in tourist famous destination it’s supposed to be beautiful as well as crowded. Well in our case we were lucky to visit this place with less crowd.
So, we reached around 4:45 pm and the ticket counter closes by 5 pm lucky enough!!
And the time for sunset was 5:50 Pm so technically we had only an hour to climb the rock.
The ticket costed us 2655 Sri Lankan Rupees per person.
There will be plenty of locals who would tell you they are tourist guides and would try to convince you to take them with you as a guide, I would Insist it’s better to take them, but bargain for prices as they tell you high prices initially. We did not take a guide because our Driver was also a tourist guide which was an added advantage for us.
There are approximately 1200 steps to reach the top of Sigiriya rock and it takes about an hour and half to climb them depending on your age and health conditions. The steps become steeper and narrower as you climb up.
Watch the video to know more
History
Sigiriya (means lion rock) is rock fortress built in 5th century AD by a Sinhalese king Kashyapa. He chose sigiriya to build his fort because of the special position this rock beholds in the midst of a lush jungle. The rock is 660 ft high which offers a 360 o view of the whole area. After king Kashyapa’s dynasty fell, the fortress was lost the jungle and later was discovered by the Britisher historians in 19th century.
As in Sinhalese historical stories it is said that the lion is the mythical ancestor of kings and symbolises royalty, Kashyapa decided to build a lion shaped gateway in order to symbolise power.
Architecture
The kingdom was decorated with beautiful fresco paintings, garden and water fountains. The fortress is a best example of ancient Sinhalese urban planning.
Sigiriya has miniature and traditional water gardens considered to be the oldest in the world and their underground water ways are still functioning that’s so amazing. Water gardens utilizes a very complex ancient hydraulic system.
It’s a fort with a moat for its defence mechanism.
The ‘Lion rock’ got its name from the gigantic lion which greeted visitors halfway up the rock on a small plateau. Only the lion paws are remaining right now, but just imagine who beautiful it must have been back then.
Even thinking about it I get goosebumps; how marvellous the construction was also it would have been extremely meticulous to construct the whole fortress.
Frescos
Well this was something which was a surprise element for me as I have never seen such beautifully preserved frescoes. It’s mainly ladies which are depicted in these frescoes.Its painted with natural dyes on wet plaster. Well you have to climb a narrow spiral staircase to reach the cave where these frescos are preserved.
SIGIRIYA, POLONNARUVA, SRI LANKA – CIRCA APR 2013: Ancient painting on rock 
Mirror Wall In The Sigiriya Complex
Originally the walls were so perfectly polished that the king could see himself whilst he walked alongside it. Made of brick masonry, the wall was covered in highly polished white plaster, used a technique that combines a unique combination of natural rock, brick powder, kaolin, dolomite and oil of a bark of Dorana tree. This walled path continued till the summit through the lion’s mouth.
As soon as you start climbing more and more, the scenic beauty starts increasing in your surroundings. When we reached at the top of the Sigiriya rock we could see the ruins of the old fortress, which takes you to an imagination of how grand palace would have been. One could see a 360 view of the surrounding areas which is breathtakingly mesmerising.
Beware of the bee hives on the rocks. Try not to make too much noise as the bees can get disturbed and attack you.
The climb down took only ½ Hour and it was quite dark and there are no lights to guide you. So, its always better to leave as soon as the sunset. Also, I had sprained my ankle while coming down as I missed a step and slipped.
With its ancient history, marvellous architecture and scenic view from the top Sigiriya is sure to leave a mark in your memories.
Harrytinkers travelog 
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