Today we will go on a virtual tour to one of the seven relics of Sri Lanka , which is protected by UNESCO - the mountain palace of Sigiriya. This place even now is struck by the complex architecture and by how well everything is preserved here. Sri Lanka can be proud of the mountain of Sigiriya, which is also called the Lion's Rock. Interesting? Then go!
General information
There is reliable information that people lived here for 5,000 years before our era. But the real flowering began with the founding of the monastery, which was built around the 5th century BC. In the palace complex with majestic gardens, the area where the fortress of Sigiriya is located was turned somewhat later. Grand construction began during the reign of the local monarch Kasapa. The main part of the buildings is at the top of Lion's Rock at an altitude of 370 meters. There is a long string of steps, which starts between the paws of a huge stone lion. Until now, only his paws have survived, but enough to connect the imagination to the former grandeur of this structure.
Interesting places
After passing several terraces, those who came on an excursion to Sigiriya get to the top of the stairs, which leads to the top of the mountain. Now the guests have a real test, in fact ahead of them are waiting for 1250 steps. On the way to the top, one of the most interesting sights of these places awaits you - a mirror wall. It is entirely made of a special kind of porcelain. If you believe the old records, it was polished to such an extent that the ruler passing along could admire his own reflection. It is covered in some places with inscriptions and poems, the very first of them were written back in the VIII century. We rise even higher on the mountain Sigiriya, while considering in parallel how many steps still remained before the peak to pass the time, we finally get to the very top of Sigiriya, to the main attraction - the ruins of the palace complex. The palace is partially preserved and to our days, even what remains is quite enough to imagine the scale of this structure. It affects the technical perfection of buildings, and in particular, the exact proportions and the very quality of construction. Tanks for collecting water, carved directly into the rock, and to this day successfully cope with their task. Moving to the ancient sanctuary of Sigiriya, its walls are covered with beautiful colored murals, which have been perfectly preserved until our years. Many of them have irretrievably disappeared, and those that survived are very zealously guarded by local authorities.
Water gardens
But most of all, the water garden built here is amazing. This place, if viewed from a height, is broken down into ideal geometric figures that connect in the center. The most complex and large of the gardens is divided into three parts, which follow one another in a straight line. In its central part there is an islet surrounded by water, roads leading to it are paved with stone. Next we will visit a two-story garden with fountains. On the lower tier there are two huge deep basins of pure marble. They are filled with several streams that flow from the fountains. By the way, the fountain system works now, on rainy days. At the highest point is the third part of the garden, which is a gigantic area, cut by multiple corridors and terraces. If you stroll to the northeast, you will get to a pond that has the shape of a regular octagon.
To inspect only a small part of the local buildings can take a whole day. If you are going to these places, then we strongly recommend that you hire a Russian speaking guide who could tell you the history of the heyday and fall of one of the magnificent settlements of Sri Lanka.
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