Aukana Buddha Statue

Twelve metres of Buddha carved from a single granite face in the 5th century, still attached to the rock at the back, and so precisely cut that rain falling from the tip of the nose lands between the toes. The right hand is raised in asisa mudra, a blessing gesture unique to Sri Lanka. Standing beside the Kala Wewa reservoir, it is the finest ancient sculpture on the island and receives a tiny fraction of Sigiriya's numbers.