Sigiriya

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sigiriya was our first cultural stop in Sri Lanka.  Around 200 metres high, a visit requires a bit of a walk and quite a few vertical stairs, so we decided to get through the gates as they opened at 7am.  We were on top, before the heat, and the onslaught of tour buses, and got the chance to explore in relative calm. 

The site began as a monastery in the 3rd Century (BC) and in the 5th Century (AD), became a King's royal residence, with fairly significant fortifications, moats etc.  The King had been a bad boy and needed a safe crib. 

It's a really interesting place to stroll around, and the views from the top are magnificent.  The frescoes, located in a cave, reached by negotiating a slightly dodgy spiral staircase, are beautiful and the famous mirror wall has poems and inscriptions from the 8th Century AD, and many more recent ones, known nowadays as graffiti.