Sigiriya Rock Fortress
Sigiriya, known as the Lion Rock Sri Lanka. It is an ancient rock fortress and royal citadel located in the Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. The name refers to a site of ancient and archaeological significance that is dominated by a huge rock nearly 200m high.
The sigiriya was selected by King Kashyapa in (477 – 495 AD) for his new capital. King constructed his royal palace on the top of this rock and decorated its sides with colorful paintings. Since it has been a royal citadel, the garden has been decorated by Water Gardens, Boulder Gardens and Terrace Gardens. When you climb about halfway up the side of this rock king built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion paw. The name of this place is consequent from this construction. Sigiriya was uninhibited after the king's death. It was a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century, Sigiriya is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site. It is one of the best-preserved examples of early urban planning.
Travel Route and Time
- Colombo to Sigiriya 220 km (5 – 6 hrs.)
- Katunayake International Airport (CMB) to Sigiriya – 185 km (5 hrs.)
- Kandy to Sigiriya – 90 Km (3 hrs.)
- Anuradhapura to Sigiriya – 80 km (3 hrs.)
- Trincomalee to Sigiriya – 98 Km (3 hrs.)
Frescoes
The western wall of Sigiriya have been a huge picture gallery, an area of 140m long and 40m high. It’s the largest picture gallery in the world, created by king Kasyapa during his colonial period. There was about 500 ladies in the drawings. However, most have been lost now 19 frescoes have persevered up to date. The frescoes has three layers, mud fortified by paddy husks and other natural fibers, mud blended with lime and sand, and a surface richer in lime than the previous layer. The last coating of lime was applied and spread even to obtain the colors which are the three traditional earth colors of the earliest painter’s palette- red ochre, yellow ochre and green. These frescoes has a close similarity to pictures found in the Ajanta Caves in India.
Tour in Sigiriya (Lion Rock)
Never missed to visit this royal citadel of sigiriya during your Sri Lanka holiday, we have unique tours that cover all these attractions. Click here to see more details.
There are lot of activities that you can do in Sigiriya. We have been listed all those in the following link. Click here 
Best Time To visit Sigiriya
- Morning :- 07:00 - 10:00
- Afternoon :-14:00 - 16:00
Sigiriya Ticket Counter Opening & Closing time
- The ancient site is open every day from 7:00AM to 5:30PM
Mirror Wall
Mirror wall was a highly polished white masonry parapet wall that the king could see himself while he walked alongside it. Now stained in hues of orange. The special plaster of the mirror wall made of lime, egg whites, and honey. The surface of the mirror wall was polished to a brilliant shine with beeswax. The Mirror wall is painted with writings and poems written by the visitors.
The Archaeological Commissioner of Ceylon, read 685 verses written in the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries CE on the mirror wall. One such poem from these long-past times, roughly translated It saying “I am Budal. Came with hundreds of people to see Sigiriya. Since all the others wrote poems, I did not!” Nowadays it’s not allowed to write. These impressions are attesting that Sigiriya was a tourist spot more than a thousand years ago.
