 Sigiriya, Lion Rock | ||
| Sigiriya | ||
| province | Central Province | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | unknown | |
no value for residents on Wikidata:  | ||
| no tourist info on Wikidata: | ||
| location | ||
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Sigiriya is a historic rock fortress in the Sri Lanka / Central Province of Sri Lanka. It has been part of the UNESCO world cultural heritage and is probably the most important tourist destination of Sri Lanka.
background
The name Sigiriya means Lion rock. It is an approximately 200 m high magma block that towers over the jungle, visible from afar. Already around 300 AD lived under its rock overhangs and in the caves. Buddhist monks. Sigiriya was expanded into a fortress in AD 473. The trigger was a regicide in Anuradhapura: Kassapa I. had his own father, King Dhatusena, walled up alive because he felt he had been left out of the line of succession. His half-brother Mogallana swore revenge, but first had to flee to southern India. Kassapa moved his residence to the rock of Sigiriya, staying in Anuradhapura seemed too dangerous to him. In 491 Mogallana returned to Sri Lanka with an army of mercenaries. A battle broke out between the half-brothers' troops. In a swampy area Kassapa got into a hopeless situation on the back of his elephant and died. Mogallana became king, he had the palace on the rock of Sigiriya destroyed and moved the residence back to Anuradhapura. Sigiriya became meaningless for a long time.
In 1831 the rock was rediscovered by a British officer and the first excavations and renovations began in 1895.
getting there
| Distances (kilometers of road) | |
| Habarana | 11 km |
|---|---|
| Dambulla | 24 km |
| Polonnaruwa | 57 km |
| Anuradhapura | 70 km |
| Kandy | 97 km |
| Trincomalee | 101 km |
| Colombo | 179 km |
By train
By bus
In the street
mobility
Tourist Attractions
Although Sigiriya was primarily intended to serve as a fortress, it was carefully and elaborately planned and built. The king's palace was on the highest point of the summit plateau, accessible only by narrow stairs carved in stone. At the foot of the rock there was a pleasure garden with water features. The entire complex was surrounded by a protective wall and a moat. Within the area there were, among other things, palaces for the approximately 500 concubines of the king. The rocks at the foot of Sigiriya were provided with stairs for the guards, monkeys have taken on their role, they watch the tourists suspiciously. The rock overhangs were carefully plastered and decorated with frescoes, they are known as the Cloud girl, although their meaning has not yet been clarified. Of the original 500 or so pictures, only about 20 are well preserved. The beauty of these girls also inspired early visitors who expressed their impressions in the form of graffiti left on the smooth plastered wall of the mirror gallery, they are material for modern linguists.
There is a ticket booth at the entrance to the citadel. The entrance fee for Europeans is USD 30. The price includes admission to the nearby museum. There are also toilets there, but they are in short supply within the citadel.
Moats enclose the area at the foot of the 1 Rock fortress. The citadel was located within this area 2 the partially restored park of the pleasure garden, in which one can see trenches for the water features. In several small terraces the path leads to the west side of the rock, you can see smooth plastered places under some overhangs, where the remains of paintings can still be guessed. Then suddenly it goes steeply upwards 3 Mirror gallery. If you want to marvel at the cloud girls, and that is almost all of the visitors, you have to climb a narrow spiral staircase to the top, under a protected rock overhang, the partly topless portraits of women are hidden. A staircase leads down to the mirror gallery, it turns out to be a smooth plastered wall, one can only guess the incised texts.
On the further way up you pass terraced gardens, finally you reach a plateau on the north side of the rock about halfway up, here the steepest part of the ascent on the lion staircase begins. Originally the path led through the maw of a stone lion above, today only the mighty paws remain, between which the path leads steeply up to iron stairs.
You finally reach the summit plateau with the last of the 1,200 steps, from which there is a beautiful view over the citadel with the pleasure gardens, over the surrounding Dschunngel to the smaller rock massif of the 4 Pidurangala. The numerous remains of the wall show that there were other buildings on the plateau in addition to the palace. The water-filled cistern, which probably served as a bath, and the stone throne are worth seeing.
The descent first goes back to the plateau with the lion staircase, from there the signposted path takes a different course than on the ascent. At the bottom you pass a cave, it is towered over by the cobra hood rock, and at the bottom are the inevitable souvenir shops, snack bars and toilets.
For the visit to Sigiriya you should plan a morning, wear good shoes and take enough water with you. It is also advisable to start the ascent to the rock as early as possible in the morning and not only in the hot midday, the around 1,200 steps are sweaty enough. In addition, the lower stone steps were all individually manufactured, they are of different heights and usually only comfortable for feet up to shoe size 34 and therefore require good concentration, especially when it is wet. A few dozen young men are happy to offer their help, but expect a corresponding reward on the descent.
activities
- There are good bird watching opportunities
- There are several options for elephant riding in the vicinity
shop
kitchen
nightlife
accommodation
