I first heard about Sigiriya while hastily flipping through the book "1001 Places to See Before You Die" at an airport bookstore. There were no pictures of it, but the description was enough to pique my interest. It was described as the ancient fortress of a paranoid king, who had built himself an impregnable capital city on the top of an extinct volcano in the very center of Sri Lanka. Hmmmmm.... That sounds like it's worth a visit, yes? It was only later that I saw the pictures, and as impressive and foreboding as they appear, they still do nothing to capture the full insanity and marvelousness of this incredible site. Becky and I spent the better part of our morning climbing Sigiriya's 1202 steps to its stunning summit, and we both realized about halfway up that this was clearly the coolest place either of us have ever been... And we've been to some pretty amazing places...
It's not just the scale of this rock that impresses you. It's not just the ingenious design of the city it housed, with it's highly evolved irrigation systems, it's elaborate defenses, and beautiful pools and gardens. It's not the attention to detail, or the beautiful art, or the city's magnificent grounds that really make you stop and gape. All of those are elements of a larger narrative, and while they're amazing in their own right, they're pieces of a bigger puzzle. What really grips you about the place is the human story behind it, the ambitions and fears of the king who orchestrated its construction, and the stark Shakespearean tragedy that consumed his life. Sigiriya is a monument to madness and paranoia, to murder and ambition, and to the way karma and power balance each other out. We were totally enchanted by it.
So there are multiple myths and legends about how this rock fortress came to be, but the one I like goes like this: around 477 AD, Kashyapa, the bastard son of King Dhatusena, killed his father with the help of some well-placed relatives in the army, and seized control of the kingdom. King Dhatusena's legitimate son Moggallanna fled to India, leaving the new King Kashyapa in full control. The new king was worried that he couldn't defend the traditional capital of Anuradhapura, so he moved his entire kingdom to the barren rock fortress of Sigiriya and built a city around and atop it. He was beset with guilt from killing his father and also feared that his brother would return at the head of an army and depose him. So he dug in, literally, and fortified his position. Unfortunately, even though he commissioned great works at Sigiriya (which translates as "the Lion's Rock", and is meant to honor Lord Buddha), he ultimately committed suicide in battle (or was poisoned by a concubine, depending on which version you believe), and the royal city he constructed was abandoned when Moggallanna returned to reclaim his rightful place on the throne. His brother did not want the fortress on a hill, and gave it to Buddhist monks who turned it into a monastic center, which it remained for hundreds of years. But even though it was a monastery, the frescoes remains, and the place still carried the marks and legacy of King Kashyapa's manic desire to ensconce himself on the highest, safest ground around, where people could only climb up to meet him in single file...
Legend says that 500 wives joined King Kashyapa on this rock, and he built glorious gardens and pools to house his entourage. He commissioned decorative paintings to be layered on the rock 600 feet above the ground, on narrow ledges, and these paintings have survived against all odds and are considered to be among the world's oldest surviving frescoes. They were painted on foundation walls constructed of egg white, honey, and polished lime. The images are quite stunning, and totally unexpected. You climb a precarious iron spiral staircase that's been welded into the rock to find yourself face to face with large images of ample bosomed women and attendants, in full color garb, scattered across a rock face in such a way that you wonder how people ever managed to get to these high and isolated spots. There's no telling how many people died to paint these images. Indeed, there's no record of how many people died to build this fortress, but it must have been a sizable number....
The rock has been altered in countless ways, and every staircase and structure must have required significant manpower. For instance, a huge porcelain "mirror wall" covers one side of the rock, and in its original polished state it was said to be so glossy that the King could see his reflection clearly in it. Now it's been covered with graffiti dating back 1500 years, from travelers and Buddhist monks who came to marvel at the magnificence of this strange and elaborate monastery...
After winding your way around the rock, and up multiple staircases and narrow passes, you find yourself at the ledge before the final summit, which contains the remains of two gigantic Lion's paws. These were excavated at the turn of the 20th century. Apparently in the old days you had to climb stairs through the Lion's mouth to get to the top, but today only the paws remain. They're awesome. The wife and I took some pics...
The summit has a magnificent view, and reaching it felt like a true accomplishment. I don't climb 1202 steps every day, and beyond the stunning vista you encounter up there, you also find yourself amongst the ruins of King Kashyapa's original city. Swimming pools, stone storehouses, and the foundations for buildings are all in place, and as you climb over each the genius of it all sinks in once again. The place was laid out with meticulous detail, and reminded me of pictures I've seen of Machu Picchu. Like that other city in the sky, Sigiriya holds mysteries that enthrall everyone who climbs its stairs. Cave temples and elaborate royal architectural motifs cover the facades, but there's more here worth digging into. For 1500 years this place has been a center of learning, and the carvings add an otherworldly dimension to the place. I wish pictures could capture it, but the scale and magic of the place is lost in images. You'll just have to go yourself. Go. Do it. And when you've reached the top and gazed in 360 degrees from the very center of Sri Lanka, on the top of a mountain, drop us a line and share what you felt and thought. For the briefest moment, we felt like emperors ourselves, with the lush green forest beneath us and with other ancient cities lurking behind the mountains in the distance. The horizon from the summit was amazing. Some places beggar description. Suffice to say, Sigiriya is worth the flight to Sri Lanka, the 5 hour ride, and the 1 hour climb. If I didn't see anything else in Sri Lanka, this place alone would have made the whole trip worthwhile....
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