About this tour

All Inclusive Day Tour to Yapahuwa Rock Citadel

Yapahuwa Rock Citadel most remarkable attraction, however, is the ornamental stairway, which is of a unique design and covered by plenty of excellent stone carvings. The steep stairway might give you a feeling of climbing a Maya pyramid in the jungles of Central America. One of its outstanding stone sculptures is the “Yapahuwa Lion” bringing to mind the style of Chinese lion figures. Yapahuwa’s impressive specimen of Sri Lanka’s heraldic animal can be seen on the 10 Rupees note. Furthermore, the summit of the rock is a breathtaking vantage point overlooking the plains of Kurunegala District, a region also known as Wayamba.

Yapahuwa likes to be called “Sri Lanka’s second Sigiriya”. Indeed, there are some striking similarities. Like Sigiriya, Yapahuwa is an isolated rock rising abruptly almost a hundred meters above the surrounding plains. Though there are ancient ruins of sacred buildings on the summit and rock sheltes once inhabited by monks at the base and halfway to the top, the entire complex is not a religious sanctuary in the first place, but a royal palace enlarged to an entire city. Like Sigiriya, Yapahuwa is one of the very few surviving examples of an ancient citadel on the island. In Sri Lanka, the architectural concept of Yapahuwa is unique, as in the case of Sigiriya. There are even further analogies. Sigiriya is Sri Lanka’s most significant provenance of ancient Roman coins. Yapahuwa is the island’s place where most Chinese coins.

Explore the giant rock fortress of Yapahuwa. Admire the beautiful stone sculptures and highly detailed carvings on the fortress as you climb your way to the top that showcases views of the stupa ruins and Buddhist shrine remains.