Sigiriya is a huge rock, towering to about 650 feet above the ground. The sights begin at its foot on the western side with the Pleasure Gardens. Sprinkled with ponds, islets, promenades and pavillions these are networked by a fairly well developed underground and surface drainage system. A moat, once teeming with crocodiles is abutted by a wall and then a brick stairway followed by a spiral staircase leading up to the Art Gallery, a niche in the rock wall once decorated with 500 frescoes of spellbindingly lovely maidens of which only 19 remain today.
On the western and northern sides of the steep rock a gallery provides further access towards the daunting summit of Sigiriya past The Mirror Wall. The name derives from its highly polished reflecting surface, a quality retained even after 1500 years of exposure to the elements.
On the plaster is the Sigiri Graffiti, a decoration added by masses of visitors over the years.
Halfway up are stalls selling refreshments, then the climb continues between the paws of a lion -hence the name Sigiriya meaning Lion Rock- over the Lion Terrace and up a steep cliff face on iron stairs hammered into the rock. On the three acre summit are the remains of the Kings palace, now visible in its foundations, the outer walls of the palace on the very edge of the precipice, a huge tank and a throne of stone facing the rising sun. You can see for miles in all directions from here and also get a good overview of the layout of the Pleasure Gardens below.
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