Buddhist island fortress monastery: Lion Rock

Making it to the Top of the Rock, but which rock is this? (El Peñón de Guatapé, bing.com)

Visitors ascend the steps to the top of the rock monastery, palace, fortress, UNESCO site (wiki)

King Kashyapa wanted to be a lion among men.

Sigiriya or Sinhagiri ("Lion Rock," Sinhalese සීගිරිය, Tamil சிகிரியா/சிங்ககிரி, pronounced \see-gee-ree-yuh\) is an ancient rock fortress on the Theravada Buddhist island of Sri Lanka, which also has an ancient Hindu presence, and more recent Christian missionaries from England and Portugal.

The rock fortress is located in the northern Matale district near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, ancient Ceylon.

The name refers to a site of historical and archeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of rock around 590 feet (180 meters) high [2].

According to the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle the Cula-vamsa, this site was selected by King Kashyapa (477–495 AD) for his new capital. He built his palace on the top of this column and decorated its sides with colorful frescoes.

On a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. The name of this place is derived from this structure — sīnhā giri, the "Lion Rock or Hill" (an etymology similar to Sinha-pura, the Sanskrit name of Singapore, the "Lion City").

The royal capital and palace were abandoned after the king's death. It was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century [3].

Today Sigiriya is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning with nearby tanks or reservoirs and arable land all around it [4]. More

Sigiriya is not unique because Colombia has El Peñón de Guatapé

Top of El Peñón de Guatapé (bing.com)

A view toward El Peñón de Guatapé in Colombia captures a panorama of the Embalse Guatapé, a large reservoir dotted with forested islands in central Colombia. Rising in the distance is a renowned icon of the area, the granitic giant known as El Peñón de Guatapé ("The Rock of Guatapé"). From this distance white laces running up the far right side of the monolith are visible. That’s actually a staircase built into a cleft, which holds some 649 steps from the rock’s base to its peak. From the top, the view across the reservoir and town of Guatapé is spectacular. More