Dambulla

Dambulla

The cave that the jungle did not swallow.

A granite outcrop rising from the jungle floor shelters five cave temples cut directly into the rock --- the finest collection of Buddhist cave paintings and sculpture in Asia. The caves have been continuously active as a place of worship for over two thousand years. 153 Buddha statues, three reclining Buddhas, and wall paintings covering every surface of the caves from floor to ceiling.

Experiences at this stop

• The cave temples --- UNESCO World Heritage Site

Enter barefoot, as visitors have for two thousand years. Five caves, 2,100 square metres of painted rock surface. The incense and the sound of monks chanting are not ambient details --- they are the experience.

• The 15-metre reclining Buddha

Carved directly from the rock. The painting behind it --- an unbroken 15-metre canvas of Buddhist cosmology --- covers every inch of the ceiling and walls.

• The water drip --- geological curiosity

Water seeps through the rock ceiling and drips into a golden vessel below. It has been dripping continuously for at least two thousand years. No one has adequately explained why the rock does not absorb it.

• View from the terrace

A 180-degree view of the Cultural Triangle plain. On a clear morning, Sigiriya Rock is visible on the horizon.