Dambulla in Sri Lanka is a small town best known for the Golden Cave Temple. Inside a granite mountain are five caves filled with Buddha statues and paintings, some of which are as old as the 2nd century BC. It's no wonder that the Golden Cave Temple in Dambulla was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991.
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Dambulla in Sri Lanka
The small town of Dambulla in Sri Lanka is located north of Kandy in the Matale district. We drove past here on the way from Mount Sigiriya, the day after our safari in Minneriya National Parkand on our way to Kandy. The city is known for an impressive Buddhist cave complex, and we decided to take a closer look.
Dambulla has more than 80 caves as well as five shrines, four monasteries, 157 statues and 153 Buddha images. Among other things. Some of the oldest caves date back to the 10th century BC.
Arriving in Dambulla
Driving around Sri Lanka with a hire car and driver, we simply asked the driver to stop outside the golden cave temple in Dambulla. Here we passed a "stupa", that is, a Buddhist dome-like building with a reliquary in front.
We also soon saw a huge golden Buddha statue and in front of it a building that looked more like the entrance to an amusement park. However, it was not the staircase we would go up to get to the cave temples, but a staircase to the left of this complex.
Up to the temples
As you walk uphill in the blazing sunshine, you begin to wonder why all the castles, fortresses, churches, monasteries and temples in the world always must be at the top... Luckily we went upwards surrounded by beautiful nature!
There are at least two stairs up to the temples in Dambulla. We started walking up one, but then had to walk down a bit again to find the ticket office at the start of the second staircase... We paid about 75 SEK per person.
On the way up there are several stalls where you can buy water and fruit. There are also lots of cute monkeys. just everywhere.
Visiting the temple
We're getting used to it now! What you need when visiting a temple in Sri Lanka is a ticket (if required), clothes that cover your shoulders and legs, and bare feet. You can leave your shoes at a shoe drop-off point just outside the temple for a small fee, like a normal wardrobe!
The golden cave temple
The Cave Temple in Dambulla consists of five different caves. Together they contain 153 Buddha statues and numerous statues of Sri Lankan kings and Hindu gods and goddesses. Really cool to see how the temples are integrated with the mountain!
The large murals, which cover 2,100 square metres, show, among other things, the demon Mora feasting with Buddha. The first paintings and statues were created in the 2nd century BC and the last cave was created in the 19th century. Above all, there is an amazing number of statues! A nice and interesting stop on the way to Kandy!
See more in Sri Lanka
Want to see more in Sri Lanka? Here are some examples of interesting destinations not too far from Dambulla:
Facts about Dambulla
- Country: Sri Lanka
- State: Central Province
- Location: The city is located north of Kandy in the Matele district.
- Attractions: The Buddhist cave complex Raja Maha Vihara from the 100s BC. There are also statues of the Hindu gods Vishnu and Saman, dating from the arrival of Hinduism in Sri Lanka in the 12th century.
- Unesco heritage: The Golden Temple in Dambulla has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.
the history of dambulla
- 200th century BC: It is believed that the area has been inhabited since the 2nd century BC. It is said that King Vattagamini Abhaya fled here after an army drove him out of Anuradhapura. He later created a cave temple here.
- 4th century: The famous stupa (dagoba) was built.
- 12th century: The statues of the Hindu gods Vishnu and Saman took their place in the temple.
- 1848 - A nationalist movement started in Dambulla, aiming to throw the British out of the country.
Travelling to Dambulla
- Car from Colombo: It takes about 3 hours to drive by car from the capital (148 kilometres).
- Car from Anuradhapura: It takes just over an hour to drive to Dambulla from Anuradhapura (64 kilometres).
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Lena - good for the soul says:
What an exciting place. It seems like an important place with all those caves and statues!
Hug Lena
29 December 2018 - 8:27
Helena says:
Interesting and different place! 🙂
29 December 2018 - 10:40
Anette says:
Cool with the temples in the caves, definitely different.
Otherwise, I've had my fill of glitter and gold temples. It often looks like a carnival area. I think I've had an overdose of Buddhist temples.
I was a bit worried that you would be affected by smog, my friend's recent trip was a bit dull because of it, but the sky looks beautifully blue.
Exciting trip ?
29 December 2018 - 8:57
Helena says:
I understand that you, being in Asia a lot, have seen your fill of golden temples 😉 This one was a bit special though! And no smog here, fortunately 🙂 .
29 December 2018 - 10:42
Ama de casa says:
Yes, why should you always have to walk so much uphill? (And apparently down again sometimes to then have to struggle up again 😉 ). But it's usually worth the trouble anyway, and it really was this time 🙂.
29 December 2018 - 10:03
Helena says:
Right? Everything nice and interesting insists on being at the top 😉 These caves were worth the stairs! 😉
29 December 2018 - 10:43
åsa/nalta norrland says:
Interesting. Different. So much fun with the monkeys 🙂
Travelling around, seeing and experiencing it must really enrich the soul.
29 December 2018 - 10:57
Helena says:
I like the monkeys here. Soooo cute! 🙂
30 December 2018 - 4:14
Maria/ Magnolia Magis says:
Wow what a cool city!!! Interesting!
29 December 2018 - 10:59
Helena says:
A very special place! 🙂
30 December 2018 - 5:11
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
One place is cooler than the other. We wouldn't mind travelling to Sri Lanka.
However, I don't share your fascination with all these monkeys. I find them almost disgusting when they get too forward.
29 December 2018 - 13:00
Helena says:
Sri Lanka is an exciting country! You can of course have different opinions about the monkeys. The ones we have seen so far have not been aggressive in any way. They are not afraid, but stay a few metres away most of the time.
30 December 2018 - 5:13
GeddFish says:
Interesting! That's the kind of thing I like to check. Now it sounds like I do it a lot. No, you don't. One time I was in Thailand and there was a lot and everything is at the top, of course.
Many people go to Sri Lanka, certainly nice there, I have never been there.
Have a great time 😀 /Gerd
29 December 2018 - 13:04
Helena says:
In Thailand there are also many temples of course! And yes, Sri Lanka is both beautiful and interesting 🙂 .
30 December 2018 - 5:14
Ditte says:
Dambulla is also one of the best places to visit if you are in Sri Lanka. And that's what you did. Nice pictures and for me great recognition factor.
29 December 2018 - 17:24
Helena says:
Glad you recognise yourself! 🙂
30 December 2018 - 5:14
Lena in Wales says:
wow, what pictures and how exciting.
Have looked at some previous posts as well, but have some goodies too.
Cave plan reminiscent of housing in Spain.
Nice to have nice monkeys, not like in Gibraltar.
Looking forward to more!
29 December 2018 - 18:02
Helena says:
Yes, I have seen about cave dwellings in Spain (but not been there). Interesting! I don't know how the monkeys are in Gibraltar, but here they are nice I think. They are not afraid, but stay a few metres away most of the time and eat fruit or play with each other 🙂.
30 December 2018 - 5:16
Emma, sun like sun? says:
If you're going to build something big and beautiful, of course there should be a view! What would life be without a view?
But I wonder, how is Peter's knee and these walks up and down?
Stupas are interesting and beautiful buildings. We live just a few kilometres away from the largest and most southern in Europe. What is so special about "ours" is that you can go inside, which is not normal. And the fact that it's so incredibly beautiful with a world view of the sea. But the location is also an important part of the stupa, there has to be something special about it.
Love the picture with the monkey holding the flower. So cute!
29 December 2018 - 18:20
Helena says:
How thoughtful of you to ask about Peter's knee! He has now, finally, been given cortisone and it has helped a lot, so he walks without any problems now! Interesting and unexpected that you live next to such a large stupa! And different that you can go inside it!
30 December 2018 - 5:21
Emma, sun like sun? says:
I'm glad he's getting better, but I guess he's still taking it easy.
Here I wrote about the stupa at our place, it is so incredibly beautiful:
https://solsomsol.blogspot.com/2015/02/el-stupa-de-illuminacion.html
Since that first visit I have been there a few more times, it is so beautiful. Last summer we went with my mother-in-law and the Buddhist who was there told us in detail about all the murals. A little too detailed almost ... 😀 But it was very interesting, a religion that seems to be a little healthier on the whole.
30 December 2018 - 13:21
Helena says:
Interesting! Really different that you can walk into it!
05 January 2019 - 13:46
BP says:
Yes temples in Sri Lanka seem to correspond to castles in Spain. Ama knows a lot about climbing them;-)
Incredibly cool with a cave temple, different and almost unbelievable that they were built so lavishly already more than 2,000 years ago. Oh well preserved they also seem to be. I can imagine that the maintenance is at least partly financed by the entrance fees.
By the way, are there any Buddhist monks in the temples, real, living ones that is?
29 December 2018 - 22:28
Helena says:
Yes exactly, here you sometimes have to consider whether you want to "dare to refuse the temple" 😉 But on the other hand, it is interesting to see them! 🙂 We saw no monks in this particular temple, but we have seen many real monks at the other larger temples.
30 December 2018 - 5:24
Renate's travels says:
Great depiction of an exciting place! I visited Dambulla in 2015 when travelling around Sri Lanka and it was a very interesting stop. Didn't expect it to be so nice and colourful inside the caves. 🙂
30 December 2018 - 23:00
Helena says:
Especially with the temples inside the caves! Glad you have been here! 🙂
05 January 2019 - 13:46
Ann-Louise Paulsson says:
What a cool place and what cute monkeys! 🙂
31 December 2018 - 12:41
Helena says:
I love the monkeys 🙂
05 January 2019 - 13:47