Sigiriya Lion Rock Sri Lanka

Sigiriya Lion Rock is a 5th-century ancient rock fortress and palace complex in central Sri Lanka, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and often called the "eighth wonder of the world". It features a 200-meter-high granite monolith topped with ruins, featuring landscaped gardens, ancient frescoes, and colossal carved lion paws. (Google)

• Origin: Built by King Kashyapa (477–495 AD) as a fortified capital and pleasure palace, it was later abandoned and used as a Buddhist monastery.
• The "Lion" Name: The entrance to the final ascent was originally designed to look like a massive lion, with paws still visible today, leading to the name "Lion Rock".
• Engineering Marvel: The site displays advanced ancient planning, including working 1,600-year-old water gardens with hydraulic fountains and swimming pools carved into the granite top.
• Key Attractions: Visitors pass through intricate water gardens, see the "Sigiriya Frescoes" (paintings of women), and climb steep, narrow staircases—roughly 1,200 steps—to reach the summit.
• Significance: It is considered one of the best-preserved examples of ancient urban planning in Asia.

My wife sometimes asks, what was your favorite part of the day and why? She's a "stop and smell the roses" kind of person. It's good to reflect on the interesting experiences of the day and think about what resonates. This was easily my favorite part of the weekend despite the 1,200 steps to the top.

The views were obscurred by the overcast weather, but there's lots of other places with great views. I was most amazed by the 5th-century engineering and the grand scale of it all. The hydraulic fountains in the water garderns still work when heavy rains push the water up through the holes in the stone.

There's moats, walls, stairs, and foundations of the buildings built on top of the rock. It's crazy to imagine building anything up there and then to actually do it. It was an amazing feat of engineering and handiwork to build this here in the middle of Sri Lanka when they did. For context, medieval stone castles were built in Europe starting in the 11th-century and this is from the 5th-century.

two trees become one

There was an entrance through the mouth of a lion head, but only the paws remain

metal stairs built over the previous stairs

we visited this temple another day

spiral staircase to the famous "Sigiriya Damsels" frescoes which can't be photographed

King's receiving platform at the bottom of the rock

These are fragments of some barely remaining frescoes at ground level. Most of the famous "Sigiriya Damsels" are lost to the elements but a few of them remain in a cave accessible from a spiral staircase. 

From the link:

It is widely speculated that King Kashyapa’s harem, which consisted of over 500 concubines known for their sensuous beauty, inspired the creation of the ‘Sigiri Frescoes.’ These depictions of golden-skinned, bare-breasted women adorned with elaborate gem-studded jewelry suggest a royal connection, possibly portraying Kashyapa’s daughters. Some interpretations propose that the paintings represent apsaras or goddesses descending from the heavens to bless the citadel, a theme found in the Ajanta Caves of Maharashtra, India. There’s also a belief that the drawings depict celestial nymphs, serving as protectors of the Rock Fortress. The current state of the paintings reveals only a fraction of what was intended to be one of the oldest and most intricate picture galleries in the ancient world.

Within its walls, there are 21 fresco paintings featuring curvaceous women commonly referred to as the Sigiriya damsels. It is believed that the stone walls lining the stairway were adorned with a total of five hundred such paintings. These damsels depict women of diverse ages, including both middle-aged and young individuals.

Google Overview:

The Sigiriya frescoes are 5th-century AD, vibrant paintings of female figures (often called "Sigiriya Damsels") located in a sheltered, rocky pocket 100 meters up on the western face of the Sigiriya Rock fortress in Sri Lanka. Created under King Kasyapa, they are among the earliest preserved Sinhalese art, featuring serene, stylized women with detailed jewelry and clothing, likely representing court ladies or heavenly figures.

Key Aspects of the Sigiriya Frescoes:

• Location: Painted on the western rock surface, 100 meters above the jungle floor, often accessed via a spiral staircase.
• Significance: These are considered part of the ancient world's most impressive picture galleries and are a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Appearance: The paintings depict women from the waist up, appearing to emerge from clouds, with some holding flowers or offering trays.
• Technique & Style: They were created using natural, mineral pigments on plaster, similar to the Ajanta Caves in India. The painting style is unique for its time, using sweeping strokes to create volume and depth.
• Identity Debate: While often thought to be courtly women or concubines, others believe they represent Apsaras (divine nymphs) or goddesses.
• Preservation: The paintings have survived for over 1,500 years, but require extensive conservation due to exposure to the elements and past vandalism.