Dambulla Cave Temple or the Golden Temple of Dambulla (Rangiri Dambulla in Sinhala) is one of the eight World Heritage spots in Sri Lanka. Located in North Central Sri Lanka, it is around 150 KM from the capital Colombo. The temple it self is located around 500 meters from the city centre of Dambulla.
Dambulla Cave Temple is the largest and best preserved cave temple in Sri Lanka, it is spread over 5 separate caves. Home to hundreds of ancient statues, and amazing paintings some dating as far back as the 1st century BC. As the temple was preserved by the Kings of Sri Lanka over the ages, you can see the changing nature of Sri Lankan art over time, with some paintings dating as near as the late 18th century.
Dambulla Cave Temple is the largest and best preserved cave temple in Sri Lanka, it is spread over 5 separate caves. Home to hundreds of ancient statues, and amazing paintings some dating as far back as the 1st century BC. As the temple was preserved by the Kings of Sri Lanka over the ages, you can see the changing nature of Sri Lankan art over time, with some paintings dating as near as the late 18th century.
A gigantic golden (of course) Buddha, seated cross-legged over a lion’s head
Our ascend via the steps just to the left of the Golden Temple
The walk up itself was rather steep
View at the top of Dambulla Temple
The actual entrance of the cave temple
There are five cave temples altogether, numbered, well, 1 to 5.
The one immediately adjacent to the entrance is cave 1 and the furthest away being cave 5.
The cave temples were undoubtedly dark in the interior
Frescoes on the walls and ceilings
Statues of Buddha in various positions and in many different sizes
Monkeys lounged about the doorways of the temples,
snuck in to steal the flower offerings, then scampered away quickly.
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