The ancient drawings in the cave in the middle of the Lion’s Rock at Sigiriya is only half of the attractions of this tourist spot.  After  enjoying the beautiful frescoes, I come down the spiral staircase to see the highly-polished Mirror Wall.  This wall reflects like glass because it is coated with polished lime. Scribbled on the surface of the Mirror Wall are approximately 1,500 pieces of prose and poetry composed by the ancient visitors who flocked to Sigiriya from all over the island between the 7th and 13th centuries.  These writings are thus considered to be Sri Lanka’s oldest graffiti.

Mirror Wall of Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

To go to the top of this huge rock, I need to climb up further steps.  Please note that the steps are very narrow and they are cantilevered from the rock.  What a thriling exercise!! It seems that I’m climbing towards the sky.

Cantilevered Steps of Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

After climbing for almost half an hour around the huge rock, I arrive at a platform which is the entrance to The Palace on the Summit.  The entrance is characterized by two huge lion paws on both sides of the entrance stairway.  You can visualize how large are the paws by comparing its size against the women  standing at the stairway.

Entrance to The Palace on the Summit, Sigiriya

As I pass through the entrance, I have to climb some even more thrilling staircase as you can see in this photograph.  I am almost like walking in the air, with the beautiful surrounding scenery on my side.

Cantilevered Steps of Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

The surrounding area is heavily vegetated with plantations which cover the whole area (including the small mount) like a carpet.  How fascinating!!

Beautiful Scenery of Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

An aerial photo is the best way to visualize this Lion’s Rock.  In the olden days, a Palace existed on the top of the Lion’s Rock and so there are a lot of terraces which represents the different rooms of the Palace,

Aerial View of The Palace on the Summit, Sigiriya

To give you the feeling which I have at the Palace, I also incorporate herewith a video of the panoramic view of the surrounding scenery.

Panoramic View at The Palace on the Summit, Sigiriya