Sigiriya Frescoes

The Sigiriya Frescoes (alternately known as the Sigiriya Ladies or Sigiriya Damsels) are a set of ancient frescoes located in a small cave about 100 meters up the towering Sigiriya rock. They're considered one of the top attractions of Sigiriya itself and are the most important (and in fact only) non-religious paintings which have survived from antiquity in Sri Lanka.

Apparently, the ostentatious King Kaspaya decided on Sigiriya as his palace in the 1st century BC and, as a testament to his grandeur, actually white-washed the entire rock and added a 40-meter wide band of paintings decorating the entire western side of the Rock. After more than a millennium exposed to the elements, the nineteen Sigiriya Frescoes are all that we have left of this once magnificent palatial complex.

This rock cave is situated on the way when you start to climb up towards the ancient capital of Sigiriya. The capital was built on top of a giant rock, which rises up as if from nowhere, similar to Ayers Rock in Australia. This cave is the main remaining work of art that you can still see today in Sigiriya. It was covered with paintings, and there are only a few of them left now. The place had served as a refuge for the hermit monks in ancient times. With the arrival of the royal court and the construction of the capital, the women of the harem began to appear in the cave. The details are very fine.