Dambulla is situated in the heart of the Cultural Triangle in the interior of the island of Sri Lanka only 148 km north east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy.

 

Dambulla has been visited on no less than 4 occasions by us, the latest being February 2009. Fascinating to see are the monkeys which abound near the temple. This is reached by a 20 minute walk up moderately steep steps to a platform at the top of the hill where the caves are located.

Dambulla has been a sacred place since the second century BC. It has earned the name Golden Temple because of its gilded interior.

Dambulla Rock Caves are the largest and best preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The Dambulla rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains. There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding areas. Major attractions are spread over 5 caves which contain both statues and paintings related to the life of Lord Buddha and his life. There are a total of  over 150 Buddha statues, 3 statues of srilankan kings and 4 statues of god and goddess. The latter 4 include two statues of Hindu gods, Vishnu and Ganesh. The murals cover an area of 2,100 m².

The caves in Dambulla provided refuge to King Valagamba in his 14 year long exile from the Anuradapura kingdom. Buddhist monks meditating in the caves of Dambulla at that time provided the exiled king protection from his enemies. When King Valagamba returned to the throne at Anuradapura kingdom in the 1st century BC, he had a magnificent rock temple built at Dambulla as a gratitude to the monks in Dambulla

Near Dambulla is a wealth of luxury hotel accommodation including Kandalama Hotel and Amaya Lake which was known as the Culture Club. Dambulla is only 18 kms from Sigiriya which offers numerous luxury boutique as well as deluxe hotels.