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Cave Temple in Dambulla, Sri Lanka

Spend sometime here!

Rated 4.33/5 ( based on 3198 reviews )

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Quick Information

Best time to visit

Nov - Feb

Ideal Duration

3-4 Days

Visa

On Arrival

Starting from

Rs. 1,980

Culture
Wildlife
Nature

About Cave Temple in Dambulla

The mesmerizing town of Dambulla is located in the Central Province of Sri Lanka in the Matale district. One would be amazed to know that it is known for a plethora of things, including the fact that it is home to the beautiful ancient rock ruins, Sigiriya and the country’s central hub for vegetable distribution. However, the Dambulla Cave Temple is one of the most important things to see here. These caves (also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla) are a World Heritage Site that is preserved to a level of perfection for a structure as old as this. One would be amazed to know that in fact, these ruins - the glorious Dambulla Caves are perhaps the largest best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka.

History of Dambulla Caves

Dambulla Cave Temple history dates back to the ancient times, precisely the first century BCE. It is believed that King Valagamba of Anuradhapura, revolted against and overthrown by South Indian invasions, sough refuge in these caves during his exile and transformed them into temples. After he regained his empire after 15 long years, he built temples here out of gratitude. The kings who came later made their additions to the structure of this temple. The gilding of caves and the addition of 70 Buddha statues in 1190 was carried out by Nissanka Malla of Polonnaruwa. On the other hand, the additions and restorations done in the 18th century were carried out by the Kingdom of Kandy.

Significance and attractions of the Dambulla Caves

Dambulla Cave Temple of Sri Lanka used to be home to prehistoric civilians before Buddhism arrived in the country, as proven by the 2700-year-old human skeletons found at Ibbankatuwa near the caves. The major attractions are spread over five caves, which have paintings and statues of Sri Lankan kings of the yore, and of gods and goddesses of both Hinduism and Buddhism. Cave of the Divine King is the first cave, which has a 14m Buddha statue and an account of the foundation of the monastery in Brahmi script. The second one, Cave of the Great Kings is the largest one and the third cave, the Great New Monastery has 50 Buddha statues and famous Buddhist revivalist king of Kandy, Kirti Sri Rajasinha. To reach the caves at a height of 150m, one has to climb the famous Dambulla Cave Temple steps for 364 stairs.

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Colombo Packages Reviews

Read on to find out why our customers love us!

Elangumaran

Bangalore

Elangumaran's 6 days trip to Colombo

Trip guide Abdul was excellent and made our entire trip very smooth and exciting.

Harsh Vanvala

Bengaluru

Harsh's 7 days trip to Colombo

Every thing was good except Hotel at Nuwara Eliya. Service & food was not good. I expected a good hotel there also as I have choosen five star category. Vehicle provided should be better than given.All things are more or less ok. Except the trip advisor Chetana Sharma.She is a newone most probably.

She does not know anything about payment terms.She insisted payment to be done directly for the balance amount in USD cash.I couldn't understand ?It was better for me to pay Travel triangle in India. Hotel location at Colombo.Ofcorse it was choosen by me.

Radha Krishna

Chennai

Radha's 3 days trip to Colombo

Very good collection of travel agencies and experiences. But the number of agencies who are pro active and responsive in discussing the itinerary are lesser compared to the overall number

SIVAPRIYA K

Chennai

Sivapriya's 5 days trip to Colombo

Srilanka is really a good place to visit. We booked the package through Travco Adventures. It was really a pleasant say. The package was also budget friendly compared to other agencies. The rooms were really good. In one of the places we stayed, our room was allocated nearby the river, we had a real

good view. Food was also good in all the places we stayed. A private car was provided to us and it was spacious. However, there are also few cons. 1) Guides will be mostly working with them on contract basis. It's not like they are aware of the full itinerary with respect to places and will be taking us there. We might have to be proactive and tell them these are the places we want to visit, and ensure all the places mentioned in the list is covered. 2) We were told that we would be provided with free sim upon arrival to Srilanka, but the assigned driver was not aware of it, and this lead to a bit of confusion and a delay of around an hour. It would have been good, if all these had been communicated prior. But apart from these, the assigned guide Mr. Thushar Kumar was also really good and was sportive. He was really a kind person and it was nice to chit-chat with him during the journey. He ensured we had a good, relaxing, value for money trip.

Saravanakumar Kumarasamy

Chennai

Saravanakumar's 5 days trip to Colombo

Our trip was really good. The srilankan tour agent helped us a lot 'dilini'. A spl thanks to her and the tour guide & driver. The only one which I don't like is the travel triangle agent, I forgot her name. She was super rude and acting like a PM (no time to speak etc etc). I never had this kind o

f experience with anyone.

Sarah Mathew

Chennai

Sarah's 6 days trip to Colombo

Travel Triangle helped us connect with local travel agencies in Sri Lanka which helped us plan our itinerary and trip in a smooth manner

Abhishek Laddha

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Abhishek's 6 days trip to Colombo

Good Trip , well organised, Special Thanks to Mr Kasun who was with us for 7 days Took gr8 care and was very helpful Gr8 Job guys

Kunal Lonari

New delhi

Kunal's 6 days trip to Colombo

Was one of the best experiences so far. The team was extremely responsive and handled last minute changes with ease. They are prompt in there response and always available to assist Strongly recommended for any one travelling to Sri Lanka to make your trip memorable Mirissa sunset Kandy temple S

igiriya climb Negembo stay

S Roul

New delhi

S's 6 days trip to Colombo

Our holiday with trip travel hub was good. Efficient service for people in our group wanting a change in itenary at last moment. Travel agent was very accommodating. Gave us good car with driver. Only at Mirissa the room given to us was on 4th floor but no lift facility.

Moushumi Ghosh

Hyderabad

Moushumi's 6 days trip to Colombo

I would say my overall trip was fine but there is scope of improvement when it comes to itinerary and planning. We could not cover a lot of points irrespective of the fact we started everyday as early as 9am. We barely got any time to shop in Colombo, in fact Lotus tower was the only place we could

vidit after our arrival to Colombo and the cab driver didn't let us shop the next day or on our last day when we headed 5-6 hours early to the airport. The hotels were good except for the fact that two of them had no lifts but we had to climb stairs which was not beforehand. In fact the hotel which had a great view in Kandy, I requested the agent if we could stay there instead of going to Nuwara eliya but since it was last minute it was not acceptable. I would give 3 out 5 as there is scope of having better experience. My best memory is the time we spent in the Millennium elephant orphanage where we fed and bathed the elephant and walked with one.

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FAQ's of Colombo

Read on to find out why our customers love us!

How many stairs does one have to climb at Dambulla caves?

There are around 364-365 stairs to climb to reach the Dambulla Cave temples.

How long does it take to see the Dambulla Caves?

It takes around 1-1.5 hours to see the Dambulla Caves.

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in India

Cave Temple in Dambulla, Sri Lanka

Spend sometime here!

Quick Information

Best time to visit

Nov - Feb

Ideal Duration

3-4 Days

Visa

On Arrival

Starting from

Rs. 1,980

Culture

Wildlife

Nature

About Cave Temple in Dambulla

Similar Destinations

Nuwara Eliya

Kandy

Sigiriya

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Colombo Packages Reviews

Elangumaran's 6 days trip to Colombo

Harsh's 7 days trip to Colombo

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Sivapriya's 5 days trip to Colombo

Saravanakumar's 5 days trip to Colombo

Sarah's 6 days trip to Colombo

Abhishek's 6 days trip to Colombo