The village around the iconic Lion Rock fortress, at the heart of Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle and ringed by ancient sites and safari parks.
Sigiriya sits in the dry-zone north of the Matale district and is best known for the UNESCO-listed Sigiriya Rock Fortress, King Kashyapa's 5th-century citadel crowning a 200 m granite monolith. The small village at its base has grown into a comfortable travel hub of guesthouses and hotels, and makes an ideal base for the Cultural Triangle: the neighbouring Pidurangala Rock, the Dambulla cave temples to the south-west, and Minneriya and Kaudulla national parks, famous for their elephant gatherings, a short drive away.
The area rose to prominence when King Kashyapa I moved his capital to Sigiriya between 477 and 495 CE, building a palace and elaborate water gardens atop and around the rock. After his reign the site served as a Buddhist monastery for centuries before being abandoned to the jungle, and it was rediscovered and documented by British antiquarians in the 19th century. Sigiriya was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.
A 5th-century royal citadel atop a 200-metre granite monolith, famous for its frescoes, mirror wall and lion-paw gateway.
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