Place's to visit in Sigiriya

A pair of strange metal spiral staircases, resembling the architecture of the Victorian era led up to a recess, sheltered in the rocks and became the home to a gorgeous sight, supposedly called Sigriya Damsels. It was specially built in the 5th century as per the orders of King Kasyapa. It is one of the largest murals and features paintings of 21 bare chested, beautiful women painted on to the face of a sheer rock. These paintings are unlike the others you would find in Sri Lanka.

If you want to know more about Sri Lankan culture and want to soak in the celebratory mood, you must visit Sri Lanka in the month of May during the Wesak Festival. As Sigriya is one of the 3 cities of the Cultural Triangle, it is a great place to be during the festival. As the country of Sri Lanka is predominantly a Buddhist country, the festival of Wesak is celebrated in almost every single nook and corner of Sri Lanka. Despite their religion, every house in the country lights up during the festival. Every house displays Wesak lanterns in various shapes, sizes and colours. Huge pandals that depict the life of Buddha are lit up with strings of multicoloured bulbs. Following the Lord Buddha and his path and quality of giving, free food and drink or ‘dansal’ is offered to people on the streets. This will definitely be an exciting experience if you want to sample the culture of Sri Lanka. 

Unlike the symmetrical Water Gardens, the Bolder Gardens comprises a small scenic forest with meandering pathways winding between massive boulders and through old-world, picturesque rock arches. Many of the boulders are dotted with long lines of notches. These once supported the long vanished miniature wooden pavilions. One of these pavilions stood on every boulder. The gardens were home to the monks of Sigriya. Mementoes of this ancient community can still be found amongst the rocks and caves.

Situated around two kilometres north of Sigriya, Pidurangala Rock is a site closely related to the history of Sigriya. The area was occupied for over 2000 years by monks who lived in caves surrounding the area. The climb to the top of the rock is about a rough 40 to 60 minutes. It is open to visitors from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.

If you want to explore the flora and fauna of Sigriya, then you must visit the Wildlife Sanctuary in the citadel. This sanctuary is located around the Sigriya rocks. It is very close to the Minneriya National Park. The vegetation in the sanctuary mainly comprises shrub forests, dry evergreen forests and dry deciduous forests. You will find lot of elephants herding in this wildlife sanctuary. Other creatures that you will find in the sanctuary are falcons and eagles, among the rest.

This gorgeous garden reminds one of Versailles, as the well-preserved gardens have carefully manicured lawns that are dotted with ponds that are arranged symmetrically, small fountains and water channels. During periods of low rainfall, all of this tends to dry up.

The Palace Garden has pools cut in the rocks and a lot of terraces. It had rock cut pools and used to be a domestic garden. It is situated on top of the summit.

If you are fond of exploring the old artefacts of the ancient citadel, then a visit to this museum is a must. The museum has on display engaging and detailed artefacts. It has a diorama of the ancient site which gives one an explanation and overview of Sigriya’s natural beauty and cultural significance. The fact that it was a palace is thoroughly explained also establishing the fact that Sigriya used to be a Buddhist Monastery. The museum also explains to one how Sigriya was connected to China, the Gulf, the Roman Empire and India via trade routes. Photography inside the museum is not allowed.

Located around 24 kms or 30 minutes from Sigriya, the Dambulla Temple is the best preserved and largest cave temple in the country. Since its inception around 2000 years ago, this has been a fully functional temple. The temple goes back to the times of King Valagama, two thousand year ago, who ruled in 103 BC and also from 89 to 77 BC. The king took shelter in these caves, amongst the monks who lived there, when he was defeated by South Indian invaders. After winning back his kingdom he built a vihara here as a token of thanks. It’s set into 5 massive caverns on the mountainside. Inside the caves there are around 153 statues of the Buddha, in various poses of repose, four statues including the ones of Ganesh and Vishnu and three statues of kings of the ancient times. The walls and ceilings have been repainted over time by the monks. It is a tiring climb to the top of the mountainside. Photography is allowed inside but do not use the flash or pose with any of the statues. As it is a fully functioning temple, one must wear respectful clothing covering their thighs and shoulders. Caps and hats aren’t allowed inside. The temple is open to visitors from 7:30 am to 7 pm.

Another unique and exquisite sight in Sigriya is the Mirror Wall that is highly polished and plastered with a mix of egg white, burnished lime, wild honey and beeswax. It is 1500 years old and covered in cobweb and graffiti left by visitors over the years. It is almost like a visitors’ book which includes literary fragments and short poems reflecting the visitors’ impression of the rock, the Damsels and other architectural elements in the ancient citadel. In fact, the oldest graffiti dates back to the 7th century.

This monument was built almost 1600 years ago and is the largest single construction in ancient Sri Lanka. The history of the fortress goes back to the King Kasyapa who, tormented by his past deeds, escaped to the forests of Sri Lanka. In an area that featured a menacingly high black rock, he built a new capital for himself. He made the menace of a rock to look like a massive white cloud. Around the circumference of the cloud like structure, he got painted celestial nymphs that are now known as the Sigiriya Frescoes. He also built a gateway resembling a lion which gave this its name, Lion Mountain. The city thrived for the next 14 years till it was forgotten with time. It is a 60 to 90 minute climb and open to guests from 7 am to 5:30 pm.