Fountain Garden

Sigiriya Water Gardens

Sigiriya's water gardens are arranged symmetrically along the western approach to the city (map). The gravity-operated waterworks were fed by underground conduits and included watercourses, pools, and low-pressure fountains that operated during the rainy season.

This photo looks west, down and out along the main east-west axis of the site. Further down-axis towards the entrance (not shown here), the designers created a miniature "island," surrounded by water and approachable by walkways from all four directions – an early example of the charbagh ("quartered") plan that was favored in Persian "paradise garden" designs like the Taj Mahal.