The rock fortress at Sigiriya was built in the fifth century but soon fell out of use and became a monastery and is now a unique place to visit. Located in central Sri Lanka it is a popular tourist attraction although the climb up is not for the feint of heart!
Visiting Sigiriya Rock Fortress
I haven’t actually tried driving myself in Sri Lanka and, having seen the state of some of the roads, that’s probably a wise thing! As the edifice is fairly central in the island a visit to Sigiriya Rock Fortress can be arranged from most hotels by taxi or minibus or booked online through apps such as Viator or Trip Advisor. A guide can be hired at the site if you choose to go by taxi.
The visit is really in two parts as the Sigiriya Rock Fortress is the climb after walking through the Water Gardens. Facilities wise, there really isn’t much on the site so take plenty of water and wear sensible clothes and footwear!
My Experience
Our visit was booked from our hotel and sadly I had done no research at all so didn’t know what to expect or look for. We walked through the water gardens, it is really just rock cut pools either side of the main path but 1500 years old and some of our first evidence for formal gardens in the world.
After walking through the gardens, the rock then looms above you and then you get your first glimpse of the Lion Gate. This must have been incredibly imposing when built, two massive paws and a head and the enter the fortress through the mouth. Sadly, all that is left now are the two paws, still impressive but your imagination has to fill in the rest.
The climb is best described as ….. interesting. The route is a mixture of carved steps and bolted on iron steps, which are a delight to climb! We were lucky as ours was a private tour so there were just the four of us but being in a group of 50 on a coach on those steps would be quite stressful! We also passed a huge hornets nest (both the nest and the hornets being huge!) and had several pauses to absorb the view and get our breath back.
Not surprisingly, the climb was hot and sweaty work as well as being pretty nerve racking listening to the groans of the scaffolds as you climbed. The views though were incredible and well worth the effort and there are more pools and foundations at the top to amble around.
I must confess that I can’t remember whether the cave with the frescoes was at the base of the fortress or part way up the hill. The frescoes are really impressive though and definitely not to be missed. It really did add to the ‘different culture’ feeling and they were actually pretty good artistically too.
Sigiriya Rock Fortress Photo Gallery
These next photos were taken in the dim and distant past of 2006 and they were not taken in RAW so these are pretty much unedited jpgs. I’d like to think my own skill in photography has moved on since then too so these may not be ideal pictures. Sorry!
History
Archeological excavations have proven that Sigiriya and its surrounding territories were inhabited for more than 4000 years.
Since the 3th century BC Sigiriya was used as a monastery and after eight centuries it was turned into a royal palace.
The construction and early history of the palace and fortress of Sigiriya is connected with several tragic events in the relationship of two royal brothers – Kasyapa and Moggallana. King Kasyapa (477-495 AD) illegally took the throne.
The legal heir of the throne Maggallana was forced to escape to India. Fearing an attack by his brother Kasyapa decided to move the capital from Anuradhapura to the central parts of Sri Lanka. He constructed a royal palace on a high rock to make sure it will not be invaded by the right heir of the throne Maggallana.
The palace – Sigiriya was constructed using the most advanced technologies of the time and was richly decorated with colorful frescos. After Kasyapa was killed in the battle with his brother’s army, the capital was moved back to Anuradhapura. Maggallana destroyed the palace of his brother and Sigiriya became a Buddhist monastery again. Approximately a thousand years later – in the 14th century it was abandoned also by monks.
In 1831 Europeans accidentally discovered Sigiriya. Jonathan Forbes – a major of the British army discovered it on his way from Polonnaruwa – a city in central Sri Lanka.
The site immediately attracted the attention of historians and archaeologists, but only in the 1980s major excavations took place here.
Archeologists discovered the 5th century citadel, royal palace, gardens, parks and 1500 years old frescoes on the western wall of the complex, some parts of which remained amazingly unaltered.
References
The fortress website is here and the history above is copied from there.
National Geographic has a nice overview of the site, including excellent aerial shots, here.