Sigiriya Rock

Sigiriya is a hardened magma plug, roughly 200 meters tall, that once formed the core of an extinct and long-eroded volcano in the Matale District of central Sri Lanka. Composed of resistant igneous rock, it remained standing as a steep-sided monolith after softer surrounding volcanic and sedimentary material eroded away over millions of years, leaving a nearly vertical rock outcrop that dominates the surrounding plain. Its geological prominence made it a natural fortress, and the fifth century ruler Kashyapa I built a palace and gardens on and around the summit, so that Sigiriya is known today both as a striking geological monadnock and as a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site.