ANCIENT CITY SIGIRIYA

 Located near Dambulla town in Matale district. Sigiriya is located at a distance of about 06 km on the road to the south of the Inamaluwa junction on the Kurunegala Dambulla road. The Sigiri Fort is situated as a single rock at a height of about 1214 feet above the sea level and 650 feet above the surrounding land.

Declared a World Heritage Site in 1982, it is an archaeological site belonging to the Cultural Triangle. Sigiriya is a complex of several parts. Kandy and Malaka water parks, gardens, moats and walls including the Sigiriya rock and the palace on it. The western part with moats and walls. The eastern part with moats and walls. Because of the hundreds of graffiti written on the world-famous murals and mirrored walls.

The ruins of a Buddhist cave temple on the western side of the foothills belong to the reign of Devanampiyatissa, BC. It is said to have existed since the 3rd century. Nevertheless, Sigiriya became a world-renowned art center after Kasyapa I (477-495 AD) made it his kingdom. The Mahavamsa mentions that Alakamanda lived as Kuveraya, building a palace and urban planning as a protective fortress. According to the archaeological research conducted so far, archaeologists have identified 08 historical phases of Sigiriya.

That is, the monastic period - 3rd, 2nd century BC to 1st century AD, the caves with drips at the foot of the Sigiriya rock and the Brahmi inscriptions indicating that they worshiped belong to this era. Phase Pre-Kashyapa Era - 1st century to 5th century AD. The history of this period is uncertain. Phase - Kasyapa Era - AD 477-495 Period - Post-Kashyapa Era - AD Post-monastic period up to 6-7th centuries Post-Kashyapa period - Abandonment period - AD 13th-17th century period Kandy Yuga - 17th-19th century period - Modern Renaissance - 1830s to 70s AD It can be introduced as a place that best represents the integration of urban design, art, architecture, construction technology, landscape gardening and water management in Sri Lanka in the 5th century.

Many people who come to Sigiriya believe that there are only constructions belonging to the reign of King Kasyapa (ie 5th century AD). But archeological evidence proves that there are several yugas before and after the reign of King Kasyapa for "Sigiriya".

Sigiriya is open from 5.30 am for tourists to watch the sunrise from the top of the rock.