Dambulla Temple in Sri Lanka, founded in the 2nd century BC, is located on top of a mountain. This place was presented to the monastic order by King Valagamba, the order sheltered him during the war in Ceylon. After that, the monarch spent 14 years of his life there.
Here is the ultimate first timers guide to Dambulla Golden Temple in Sri Lanka; get all the details necessary to take the most out of your visit, like how to get, best time to visit, what to expect, day tours.
Dambulla Golden Temple Features
Dambulla Cave Temple in Sri Lanka houses the world’s largest collection of Buddhas. This is the largest cave temple complex in the South Asian region, which has a history of 2 millennia.
You can enter here for 1,500 rupees or $ 10, the ticket price includes entrance to the Museum of Buddhism, where a golden stupa with a sacred tooth of the founder of the religion is kept in a copy.
The statue of Buddha on the roof of the temple in the rock welcomes tourists and pilgrims, admiring by the size and grandeur. As this is sacred place make sure to remember about the rules of conduct for tourists in Sri Lanka. Dambulla cave temples in Sri Lanka have been on the list of UNESCO sites since 1991. Here are collected samples of the fine arts of Sri Lanka from all eras.
How to visit
Often tourists visit Dambulla temple in Sri Lanka, but they ignore the city itself. However, Dambulla in Sri Lanka is not only a cave temple, it is very important commercial city with all necessary tourist infrastructure.
You can set aside a couple of days of your trip to Sri Lanka to get to know this place, after that visit Sigiriya, the famous fortress located on a rock.
To visit Dambulla, you can rent a transport or take a taxi, a bus from Colombo. The main cities are connected with the city by bus lines – you can get there from Sigiriya, Kandy, Matale, the ancient capitals – Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura.
You can buy a ticket right at the station. Since the bus runs frequently, there is no need to purchase tickets in advance. To get from the station to the temple on foot, you need to spend 20 minutes. Alternatively, you can use a tuk-tuk ride for 100 rupees.
Where to stay in Dambulla
Suppose you want to visit the Buddhist temples of Sri Lanka, decide to start from Dambulla and spend a couple of days at the Golden Temple. You can check into the nearest hotel and drive around the central part of Sri Lanka by visiting Dambulla.
Sri Lanka offers more than 70 guest houses and hotels of different beauty and price. Nearby is the Minneriya National Park, where you can admire elephants and other wildlife in natural conditions.
