Sigiriya
A Rock Fortress of King Kasyappa from the 5th Century AD, Sigiriya Rock Sri Lanka is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, it seems King Ravana occupied and settled this site before 5,000 BC. During his time, he reportedly tested his ‘aircraft,’ trying to fly to mainland India and back. An amazing place to reckon with, the fortress features a palace garden atop the boulder on a rocky hill. It includes water tanks at the base, part of an advanced hydraulic system, which was intriguingly futuristic for that era. Visitors pass through royal gardens with moats of water and ancient flower beds still vibrant today. Ascending the high steps, one enters courtyards through the ‘Lion’s Mouth,’ a large granite carving. From the courtyards, visitors move around the boulder to view the frescoes and mirror walls of Sigiriya Rock Sri Lanka.
On the ‘rooftop’ it appears pleasant as everything a monarch should want like an amphitheatre to convene meetings with the council, dining facilities, rooms to rest, bathing places, lookout points at the edges, etc. are there replete with nothing overlooked. If you place a roof over the columns, the ‘palace rocks’ become as lively as anything alive. Sigiriya offers much more to describe, but it’s better kept discreet to let visitors discover it on their own. As you descend, watch for the anomalous stone carving of a flat, blackboard-like structure located 10 meters past ‘the amphitheatre’ on the boulder’s side overlooking the forest canopy. Try to figure out the purpose it might have served.