12 miles from Sigiriya is Dambulla, a vast isolated rock mass 500-ft. high and a mile round the base. Here is found the famous rock-temple dating back to the first century BC. The caves of Dambulla sheltered King Walagambahu during his 14 years of exile from Anuradhapura. When he regained the throne    Read more...

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, he built the most magnificent rock-temple of this island.

The view from the top of this is breathtaking and 350-ft. above are a series of five caves turned into shrines. In the first cave is the recumbent image of the Buddha 47-ft. long, cut out of the rock. There are images of deities associated with Buddhism. The frescoes on the walls and ceiling could be dated back to the 15th – 18th centuries. In the second cave, the finest and the largest of all, are no less than 150 life-size statues of the Buddha. The ceiling too is covered with frescoes which depict great events in the life of the Buddha, and landmarks in the history of the Sinhala race.

A sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries, this cave monastery, with its five sanctuaries, is the largest, best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka. The Buddhist mural paintings (covering an area of 2,100 sq. m) are of particular importance, as are the 157 statues.

Dambulla is a huge rock towering 160 metres above the surrounding area. The Rock itself is more than 1.5 km around its base and the summit is at 550 m. These caves were the refuge of King Walagamba when he was in exile for 14 years. After his return to the throne in the 1st century BC, King Walagamba had a magnificent rock temple built at Dambulla.

Dambulla has been designated as a ‘ World Heritage site’. The caves feature a mixture of religious and worldly paintings and sculpture. Several images of the reclining Buddha including the 15 metre long sculpture is found here. The famous paintings of the Dambulla frescos on the walls and ceiling dates back to the 15th and 18th centuries.

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