The rock has long attracted settlers. A community of reclusive monks lived in the caves around the base of the rock as far back as the 3rd century BC, though it was not until the 5th century AD that Sigiriya rose to sudden and spectacular prominence in Sri Lankan affairs. The patricidal King Kassapa chose the almost inaccessible summit as the unlikely setting for his new royal palace, a courtly paradise of elegant pavilions set amid gardens and pools. The rock was transformed into an immense recumbent lion by the addition of a brick-built head and foreparts, of which only the artfully sculpted paws remain. The impact of the Lion Rock, as it is called, must have been awesome since even its remnants beggar belief. Kassapa’s palace in the clouds lasted just 18 years, though its remains have drawn visitors ever since.
Framing the main, western approach to the rock, the well-preserved Water Gardens are like a tiny piece of Versailles transported to ancient Sri Lanka, with carefully tended lawns dotted with symmetrically arranged ponds, water channels and diminutive fountains (although all of these tend to dry up during periods of low rainfall).
<h4>The Boulder Gardens</h4>
The Boulder Gardens present a striking contrast to the classical symmetry of the Water Gardens, comprising a small swathe of picturesque forest, with winding pathways twisting between huge boulders and through quaint rock arches. Many of the boulders are scored with long lines of notches; these would originally have held supports for miniature wooden pavilions (long since vanished) which once stood on almost every boulder. The Boulder Gardens are where the monks of Sigiriya lived, and numerous mementoes of this ancient religious community can still be seen amongst the various rocks and cave shelters.
