Exploring the Sigiriya Rock Fortress in Sri Lanka

Sigiriya Rock Fortress in Sri lanka (aka Lion Rock) is the #1 attraction in the country. In this episode I feature this popular tourist known as the 8th wonder of the world. It's also one of eight UNESCO World Heritage sites in Sri Lanka. Sigiriya is truly a remarkable place, so I hope you enjoy this video.

Located in a rural part of the country Sigiriya was built around the 3rd century B.C. and was used as a monastery for 800 years. By the fifth century Sigiriua became a royal palace.

This national monument is essentially broken up into two parts, the massive royal gardens at the base, and the royal palace at the top of the monolithic rock. In order to reach the top, it requires a semi arduous hike up some 1200 plus steps, which will take you 45 minutes to an hour to climb (allocate at least 3 hours to climb and explore). It’s best to do it early in the morning to avoid the crowds and the heat of the day.

Sigiriya is considered an engineering marvel due to the advanced skills required to construct the fortress from sheer rock. The terraced gardens are formed from the natural hill at the base of the Sigiriya rock. A series of terraces rises from the pathways of the boulder garden to the staircases on the rock. These have been created by the construction of brick walls, and are situated in semi concentric way around the rock.

Lion Rock (the English translation for Sigiriya), towers more than 600 feet from the valley below and is 1144 feet above sea level. You can see here how it gets its name Lion Rock with these two huge paws at the gate of the fortress. Apparently there used to be a lion head at one point, but sheered off by erosion over time.

The gardens are divided into water gardens, terraced and boulder gardens. The subsurface has a complex hydraulic systems used during ancient times that are still functional today. During the rainy season, the water channels get filled up and the water is then efficiently circulated throughout the entire fortress; a system considered too advanced for its period, so it begs the question where this technology came from.

Sigiriya is a massive compound to explore, around every bend is something new to see, including an area where a massive wall was covered in elaborate frescos, unfortunately only a few survive today.

[wsking]

When I went up in 1980, the rock was covered in thick jungle and we climbed up on shaky, rickety bamboo ladders. The top had not been excavated yet and was all jungle too, with a wall sticking out of the ground here and there and only one place where you could look down to the lake below. It was dangerous going up and my little arms were shaking so badly, I was worried that I couldn't hold on to the ladder and would fall. My flip-flop fell off and hit a famous "Le Monde" reporter on the head who was climbing up below me. "Merde!" That's how I learned how to say "Shit!" in French, always more elegant! Sri Lankans have done an incredible amount of work to clear those cliffs down to the bare rock you see now, and none of the surrounding ruins had been excavated from the jungle then either. I'd love to go back and see it now! I was 33 then, Im' 75 now. TIme flies, Make it fun!

[MeshMarketingGuru]

Wow, this place looks like an absolutely fascinating place!

[ranjanprakash]

Thanks for video on beautiful Sigiriya Rocks, Sri Lanka.

[mark_______]

Cool, cool. For some reason Sigiriya came up in my feed. Takes me back a lazy 21 years. Still as majestic now as it was back then. Cheers 🙏

[chamindamunasinghe]

Really a High-Quality Production .. Good Job Mike

[YourMarketingCoach]

Wow, this looks like a wonderful place to visit. How amazing! Thanks for sharing. Hope I can make it one day.

[micaela_]

This is one of the most incredible sights in the country! Great presentation! Love the drone shots

[Go-Travel]

Looks/sounds like a really interesting place to visit. Would love to visit Sri Lanka one day.

[susannedelaflor]

Both the royal gardens at the base and the royal palace at the top look like incredible places to explore! At 60 floors though, I think we can safely upgrade the hike to the top from "Semi-Arduous" to "Full-On Arduous"! 😄 OMG looks so worth the climb, and what an incredible experience to see those views. 👍 You got some gorgeous shots! 🎥 Thanks for sharing your once-in-a-lifetime experience with us. ♥️

[slrivi]

We have lost ton of skills technology in the past.

[davidclark]

The top of the rock appears to have been truncated. I would suspect that under this city is an older city and the location might have been a landing pad.

[LtCdrXander]

I'm surprised you don't have more views and subscribers, since your videos are very informative and awesome. I would love to see the views from atop Sigiriya; it sounds absolutely breathtaking!

[idalvalan]

Impressive. Thanks for sharing. Nature Love💚

[susantriance]

Did you do a day trip or stay in the local area ? 🙏

[SpinnakerFL]

This is amazing. I would never have the means to visit. I appreciate having such a personalized view of Sigiriya. Thanks a million, Mike.

I wonder if there is a way to see this in VR...

[daguiang]

appreciate your videos sir, keep safe always👌

[roshanjay]

Correction, I don’t want to blame negative attitudes in the present towards sex, feminine beauty, & just women in general upon foreign religious initiatives in the past. I reckon that would’ve been just *one* factor that contributed to those attitudes, but there were probably many other factors as well, including “home-grown” social corruptions, and maybe even “religious” corruptions. According to what I’ve read it seems “South Asian” societies were far more “liberal” back in ancient times than in the present, for whatever reasons. But these are just interesting cultural places to visit if you’re into History, it shouldn’t be cause for socio-political corruptions, and certainly not enmity towards people in the present who are not at fault. Also, this has nothing to do with the backward & repressive social &/or religious practices happening in other parts of the World these days, which is a different matter.

[irma]

The water on the top; only from the rain?

[bennywallyghabiliha]

Great Walk and thanks a lot for taking me there with you. God bless and surely it takes another human like me to get see the world from my home.

[theblindsniper]

Well this video has earned a sub from me. I intend to go explore this place, along with several other places in southern America.

Love the vibes of the channel.