The fortified rock of Sîgiri is situated in the centre of Ceylon, in the Central Province, at its northern extremity, close to the boundaries of the Eastern and the now North Central Province. This part of the island has long been in a very poor condition for want of water, and is but scantily inhabited; the cultivation of paddy has been abandoned for some years as hopeless, and the jungle on the site of the city which once surrounded the base of the magnificent rock is very dense and uninviting. The rock, too, lies some distance from the high road to Trincomalee, and can be approached only by a jungle path, so that the few visitors who pass through the village are as a rule glad to hurry on to the more attractive ruins of Pollanarrûa, or to the Elephant forests which lie to the east.