From misty mountains to golden coastlines - discover the best of Sri Lanka with Lisence to Travel Lanka.
A cluster of five vast cave shrines carved into a granite outcrop, filled with over 150 Buddha statues and painted ceilings that have survived more than two thousand years — Sri Lanka's best preserved cave temple complex.
Dambulla's caves have been a place of worship since the 1st century BC, when a Sri Lankan king took refuge here and later gave thanks by turning the caves into a rock temple. Later kings expanded and repainted the shrines, layering centuries of Buddhist art directly onto the cave walls and ceilings. The complex is UNESCO-listed as the Golden Temple of Dambulla, and remains an active place of worship today, reached by a steep but short climb up the rock.
We build Dambulla in as a half-day stop on the cultural triangle route, often paired with Sigiriya on the same day since the two sites sit only a short drive apart — climbing the rock in the cooler morning hours before the caves themselves, which stay shaded and cool throughout the day.
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