The main attraction in Sri Lanka is Sigiriya a huge rock surrounded by manicured gardens, and at its top waits a fascinating historic fortress. If you climb up the endless stairs among jumping monkeys and ancient wall paintings, you will also enjoy a breathtaking green view.
“This is the eighth wonder of the world,” the driver explains to me as we descend from the hills toward the central plain of Sri Lanka.
It is hard to know what to expect after such a claim.
On one hand, an eighth wonder is a wonder not included in the exclusive original seven.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka is the kind of place often overlooked when making world wonders lists, especially in the West, and during my first week here I saw quite a few: the colonial fortified city of Galle, the enormous Hindu temple in Matale, the wonderful tea plantations in the mountain heights, and Sri Lankan smiles that were wonders of the world in themselves.
So what could be the next wonder? The driver briefly tells me the story of Sigiriya Rock.
The rock itself is a volcanic plug, a block of hard volcanic rock that once blocked a volcano.
The mountain itself disappeared over time and the plug remained, its walls rising vertically from the surface.
On top of this “plug” a fascinating historical story took place: in the fifth century, Prince Kassapa murdered his father and stole the crown of Sri Lanka from his brother, the heir Mogalana.
Mogalana went to India to gather an army against his brother, and when he returned he found himself facing the Sri Lankan Masada: a fortress atop a terrifying rock, surrounded by wonderful gardens, which Kassapa built on Sigiriya as protection from his enemies.
The fortress gate was made in the shape of a giant lion, and the only way inside was to step between its fangs.
It is hard to believe, but Mogalana won. Kassapa killed himself when his armies abandoned him during the battle.
The brother did not hold the fortress for long and it passed into the hands of Buddhist monks.
Women of 1600 years ago
The monks found hundreds of paintings of beautiful nude women on the rock walls. Most of them were erased and only five remained.
I climb among the jumping monkeys, up the metal stairs leading into the palace, and then stop and look at them in amazement.
These paintings were made in the fifth century AD and the women in them are still captivating.
They are 1600-year-old women, I remind myself.
How did women appear in Western art of the same period? Two-dimensional, covered up to the neck.
Perhaps this site deserves a higher place on the list, as the sixth or seventh wonder?
Poems of hooligans
After the small cave with fresco paintings along the path, a wall made of a kind of clay appears, polished so skillfully that it reflects the visitor’s face gently. This is the “mirror wall,” and in the days of Kassapa it probably reflected the king perfectly while he walked along it.
Since then the wall was damaged thousands of visitors carved graffiti into it, but the tradition was always to carve poems.
Some of the hooliganism was done in the eighth century, and it might be a poem from that time.
What can surprise after such things? What if not the lion? I reached the rock’s shoulder. Up to this point, people once climbed on rope ladders, and from here there is still a long climb.
Here the gate is set, from which only one giant stone paw remains taller than the heads.
Another paw was reconstructed opposite it, leaving only to imagine the lion’s head with fangs between them.
This gate in the middle of the way surely left an incredible impression on ancient visitors.
Every twist confronted them with a new obstacle, a surprise.
The approach to the palace is like walking in a threatening and tempting labyrinth, erotic in its decorations and strict in its obstacles.
At least the fifth wonder.
Green from every side
The metal stairs continuing upward are fixed to the rock, but it is not much help considering the steepness.
Looking down, more and more of the island’s interior spaces appear.
The forest here is light green, spreading in all directions: toward huge mountains in the south, toward the ropes trained by the painful civil war in the north, and westward, toward the soft hills where the royal city Kandy is located, which in its temple preserves one of Buddha’s teeth.
A huge Buddha statue rises from the area, elephants walk in the thick forest around it.
Fourth wonder, I breathe heavily with every meter climbed, third wonder, second wonder.
And here is the peak, and here is the palace, including a huge swimming pool still collecting rainwater.
Here are stone wall mounds, rising like Aztec pyramids in front of the pyramidal mountains in the distance.
A soft warm wind travels over the surface, pulling the legs to the cliff edges, looking down with maximum caution, at the rock gardens below, where school students stroll, appearing so tiny.
The symmetrical gardens with their walls and long pools stretch into the distance, where two deep moats separate them from the rest of the familiar reality.
First wonder of the world? At least while being there, that is the feeling.
A few small tips
Where: in the heart of Sri Lanka, Matale District.
What else nearby: this is the spice growing region of the island.
It is fun to visit spice gardens and see what curry, vanilla, cinnamon, and black pepper look like as living plants.
The towns in the area are very diverse and hotels located in the forest offer unforgettable encounters with nature.
When to come: ready to be amazed, open to everything, and hungry for curry dishes.
