The Architectural Design of Sigiriya

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The urban center designed by Kasyapa is centered around the Sigiriya rock, which rises about 200 meters above the surrounding plain. Extending east and west from the rock are two fortified precincts; the western precinct (to the left above), which encompasses 90 hectares, and the eastern precinct which covers 40 hectares. The western area was the royal park area, a symmetrically-designed pleasure garden with elaborate water-retaining structures, as well as surface and subsurface hydraulic systems. It is surrounded by three ramparts and two moats, forming a rectangular area whose inner precincts measure about 700 meters from east to west and 500 meters from north to south. On the other side of the rock, the eastern area appears to have been a ceremonial precinct with a large central pavilion as its only permanent structure. Kasyapa and his royal family lived their lives within these walls. Moving inward from the two precincts in an ever-ascending fashion are a series of boulder gardens and then terraced gardens, leading to the entrance to the Sigiriya rock. Access to the rock is gained via a long passageway that begins on the west side of the terrace gardens, and winds northward along the Mirror Wall to the Lion Platform. From there it is straight up the north face of the rock to the royal palace and gardens at the top of Sigiriya rock. To the east of the complex is the largely unexcavated outer city where the subjects of Kasyapa dwelt. To see what it might have looked like at its peak, please view the video below

Among the most remarkable aspects of the urban form at Sigiriya are its planning mathematics and total design concept. The plan of the city is based on a precise square module. The layout extends outward from the coordinates at the center of the palace complex on top of the rock. The eastern and western entrances are directly aligned with the central east-west axis. The royal water gardens and the moats and ramparts of the western precinct are based on a "echo" plan, which duplicates the layout on either side of the north-south and east-west axes. In its total conception Sigiriya represents a brilliant combination of concepts of symmetry and asymmetry in a deliberate interlocking of geometrical plan and natural form. (pages 6-7)

1. Inner Moat	5. Fountain Gardens	9. Asana Chapel	13. Audience Hall/Cistern	17. Mirror Wall
2. Miniature Water Garden	6. Summer Palaces	10. Monk's Cave	14. Split Boulder Archway	18. Lion Staircase
3. Bathing Pools	7. Upper Fountain Level	11. Monastery	15. Terrace Gardens	19.Royal Palace
4. Water Garden 1	8. Preaching Rock	12. Cobra Hood Rock	16. Sigiriya Maidens