The trip I went to sigiriya

 It was a saturday  afternoon, when my music teacher and students we decided to enjoy the long weekend of Vesak, Considering the distance and time taken to travel we decided on going to Sigiriya. A well known, cultural location as well as a famous destination among foreigners. 

with just 4-hour drive from our  the starting point of the 

After a not so long drive, arrived at the sigiriya . 

ruins of an usurper king’s palace, ancient rock murals, and one of Sri Lanka’s best views in this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Evidence suggests that the site had religious significance as far back as the 3rd century BC, but it’s the 5th century ruins that attract the most attention today, and warrant its UNESCO World Heritage Site status. After the fall of King Kasyapa, the site was then used as a Buddhist monastery until it was abandoned in the 14th century. One thing that remains unchanged over the centuries is the uninterrupted views from the top, over miles of jungle and rolling hills. The rock sits proudly in the middle of Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle, which encompasses the relics of the Sinhalese Kingdom including Dambulla, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura.

If you simply set off to climb to the top of the rock without stopping, it will take about half an hour. However, the journey to the top is arguably best enjoyed with a local guide, who can show you the series of archaeological highlights along the way. You’ll pass through terraced gardens, cave temples, shrines perched on boulder tops, and a series of frescoes painted into the rock wall. Dating back to the 5th century, these painterly works detail a series of women possibly in worship, although very little is known of their origin.

We also pass the Mirror Wall: a wall of stone so highly polished, it’s thought that the king could admire himself as he walked by. The highly polished surface provided irresistible to 8th- and 9th-century vandals, who wrote poems, declarations of love and, of course, their names, all over it. It’s now one of the only remaining sources of Anuradhapura poetry. 

The Water Gardens and Sigiriya Museum

 In fact, as most visitors head straight up the rock, before continuing on their journey, you’ll find that the surrounding geometrically designed gardens and temples tend to remain quiet. The gardens are touted as some of the oldest landscaped gardens in the world, and include a series of deep, angular pools which once housed small summer palaces.

Also Sigiriya Museum houses some of the sculptures, jewels, human remains and tools that were found during the various archaeological excavations of the site — which are still ongoing. 

After watching all this, they did not forget to goto the top of the mountain and take pictures and then go to the foot of the mountain and take pictures near the ponds.

An hour after the photos, were taken we said goodbye to the sigiriya site and left