Sigiriya in Sri Lanka

The history of Sigiriya also known as the "Lion Mountain" is located in the ancient city of Anuradhapura which dates back to 3rd century BC. The garden city and the palace was built by Kasyapa 477 - 495 AD located at the top of rock.

Underneath it's monastery lies the tale of King Kasyapa. The Mahavansa, the ancient historical record of Sri Lanka, describes King Kasyapa as a parricide, who murdered his father King Dhatusena by walling him up alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his brother Mogallana. To escape from the armies of Mogallana, Kasyapa is said to have built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya, but Mogallana finally managed to get to Kasyapa and he committed suicide.

The Sigiri gardens blend to make the perfect setting for the Lion Mountain. It consists of 4 main gardens, namely - Gardens in the western precinct, Water Gardens, Boulder Garden, and Terrace Garden.

The main attraction found within the Sigiriya complex are the fifth century paintings found in the depression of the Rock. A modern spiral staircase reach 100 meters above ground level across the western face of the rock. The whole face of the hill appears to have been a gigantic picture gallery. The largest picture in the world perhaps'

The poems in the graffiti on the Mirror Wall, discussed below, dating from about the sixth to the thirteenth or fourteenth century, are mostly addressed to the ladies in the painting, who seem also to have been studied and reproduced in the eighteenth century by the Kandyan artists who painted the Dambulla murals.

Sir Arthur C. Clark mooted the idea that Sigiriya qualifies to be the eighth wonder of the world, ranked closely with the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal. Sigiriya has great tourism potential. The Cultural Fund hopes the these, will come a day when tourists flock to the country especially to see the Lion Mountain as they would the Pyramids or the Great Wall.