This is the view of Sigiriya from the park's main entrance. The 200 meter (650 feet) high flat-topped rock is the magma plug of an extinct volcano whose outside has eroded away. Its name means "Lion Rock." It has many natural caves and overhanging ledges which may have been used in prehistoric times. It was used as a monastery by the third century BC. It is most famous for the frescoes of beautiful women painted in about the tenth century. It no longer had a monastery and was a National Park at the time of our visit.