The 8th Wonder of the World
The best preserved city centre in Asia from the first millennium.
D eclared a World Heritage site in 1982.

One story remains from many interpretations of the Sigiriya period. 5th Century AD King Kasyapa (477-495 AD) left Anuradhapura and built for himself at Sigiriya, a palace an city modelled on the mythical abode of "Kuvera" God of Wealth.

In a sheltered pocket on the western face of the Sigiriya rock, approached by a spiral stairway, are the famous frescoes. Epigraphical evidenced refers to the existence of 500 such portraits, but only 19 remain today.

The pleasure garden of the western side of the rock is studded with ponds, islets, promenades and pavilions. Some underground and surface drainage systems have been discovered during excavations. The wall abutting the moat encircling the fortress is one of the most arresting features.

On the western and northern sides of the steep rock face runs a gallery or pathway which provides access to the seemingly inaccessible summit. Shielding this pathway is a 9 1/2 ft. plaster wall, so highly polished, that even today, after fifteen centuries of exposure to sun, wind and rain, one can see one's reflection in it. Hence the name "Mirror Wall".

The summit of the rock, with an area of nearly one hectare, was the site of the old palace - the outer wall of which was built on the very brink of the precipice. There were gardens, cisterns and ponds laid out attractively.

(information courtesy: Sri Lanka Ministry of Tourism)