Sigiriya or Sinhagiri is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. The name refers to a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of rock nearly 200 metres high.
Sigiriya is considered as the 8th Wonder of the World and it is considered to be the most popular place among tourists
According to the Chronicle the King Dhathusena (459-477 AC) had two sons. Kassapa and Moggallana. Moggallana was a non-royal consort. The King gave his only daughter in marriage to his sister's son. Migara who was later appointed as the commander of the army. One day Migara has beaten King Dhathusena's daughter with a whip in fault she didn't committed. Infuriated with this the king got his own sister killed in revenge. After that the Migara approached Kassapa in a vindictive mind to set kassapa against his father.
Migara succeeded in turning kassapa against his father and imprisoned the king. To hurt the king more migara told kassapa that the king is keeping hidden treasure for Moggallana. Kassapa asked repeatedly for the treasure from the king and he took kassapa to the reservoir he built. The king pointed his finger towards the water and said ''My dear son, this is the wealth that I have'' After hearing this kassapa killed his father by covering mud in the reservoir wall.
The successor, King Kassapa (447-495 A.D.) then couldn't live in peace. Because he always thought that his brother would come and take away the crown. Then he sought for refugee in Sigiriya.
He then constructed a whole new citadel complex to secure his throne and to be safe from his brother. Sigiriya is called as ''Alakamanda'' and the meaning is ''Palace in the Sky''
Sigiriya was rediscovered by two Britishers' in 1853 and since then Sigiriya has attracted millions of tourists. The UNESCO declared this site as a World Heritage site in 1982 considering the historical and cultural value of the place.
Sigiriya is administrated by the Cultural Triangle Project in Sri Lanka. The Sigiriya is considered as best preserved and most elaborate surviving urban site in South Asia from First Millennium. The rock is 200 meters high and it has a 1.5 hectares palace.
Sigiriya complex has a unique garden with water features and attractive rock cut pool bordered on two sides.
The Lion staircase gives a majestic appearance to the building. However there are controversial opinions of these foot marks. Some say that these are foot of a lion and some depict these are a foot of a Large Bird.
The palace is located at the summit of the rock. All the other things (Garden, Frescoes, Stair case) are just components of the palace. It is covering an extent of 1.5 hectares.