Sigiriya

Sigiriya

The rock that changes the way you see everything else.

There is no preparation for Sigiriya. The jungle opens and five hundred feet of ancient rock rises from the plain without ceremony. A 5th century king built a palace on its summit and decorated the sheer rock face with frescoes of extraordinary beauty. The frescoes remain. The hydraulic gardens at the base --- among the oldest landscaped gardens on earth --- still function on their original irrigation system.

Experiences at this stop

• Summit climb --- Lion Rock

Begin at dawn. The light on the plain from the summit at 6.30am is unlike anything the island offers from ground level. The climb takes 90 minutes.

• The 5th century frescoes

Halfway up the rock, protected in a sheltered gallery --- semi-divine women painted in colours that have not faded in fifteen centuries. They must be seen slowly.

• Mirror Wall and ancient graffiti

The world's earliest identifiable example of visitor commentary --- inscriptions left by visitors between the 6th and 14th centuries. Some are poetry. All are fifteen hundred years old.

• Water gardens --- oldest landscaped gardens on earth

The symmetrical water gardens, fed by an ancient hydraulic system that still pressurises the fountains after 1,500 years. Walk them in the early morning.

• Pidurangala Rock --- the view of Sigiriya

Climb the lower rock opposite for the sunrise view of Sigiriya's profile. The finest photograph available in Sri Lanka and almost no one takes it.