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anilpradhanshillong Says: These cave temples are the best preserved and biggest in Sri Lanka. The rock rises to a height of 160 m (520 ft.) from the surrounding plains and houses more than 80 documented caves along its 2000 feet length. However, the most important are 5 caves, which contain priceless...
anilpradhanshillong Says: Cave 4 houses 10 images of the Buddha and two dagobas. There is also a huge bo-tree outside the vihara.
anilpradhanshillong Says: Cave 2 is a larger one and joined with Cave 3, which contains over 55 statues of the Buddha, an image of the future Buddha (Maitreya Buddha) and a dagoba in the middle of the shrine.
Sambawalk Says: The Raja Maha Vihara at the village of Dambulla is the most impressive. It consists of a series of five caverns. The temple is on the summit of a huge slope rock face that rises more than 350 feet above the village. The most interesting is the largest cave, as ceiling of...
DAO Says: Just outside the entrance to Dambulla Caves is a large pond and a few buildings. The monkeys are everywhere and are very used to tourists. It is best to not get to close, but they are happy to pose for photos!
hydronetta Says: The cave temples open daily from 07:30-19:00 (admnission fee) are located 2 kms south of Dambulla town centre. Thre is steep 10 minutes climb up from the street level to the caves.These are man-made granite outcrops which rise 160m above ground offering splendid views across...
hydronetta Says: Don't keep yourself occupied only with the caves' interior. Sit down a while before departure and enjoy the majestic landscape of the plains extending as far as Sigiriya. I was lucky enough to witness a gigantic lizard slopping down from the rocks!!
hydronetta Says: Before climbing up the stairs to the caves, stands the undoubtly kitsch Golden Temple. This new building is topped by a huge (around 30meters high) seated golden Buddha. Though it claims it is the largest Buddha statue in the world, this is not true. The buidling houses the...
trisanna Says: Along with Buddha images, in the center of the room there is a dagoba (Buddhist shrine that looks like small stupa). When the dagoba was contructed one of Sri Lanka's kings supposedly placed jewels deep inside the structure.
trisanna Says: This is one of the nicest temple caves. This is the Temple of the Great King-since there are two statues of past kings. In the middle of the cave, there is a locked area that contains an urn that collects water that drips down from the top of the cave. The water is used...
1 Review and 891 Opinions Wonderful bathrooms with huges shower-cabins. Excellent cuisine ! Built in an special location the...
285 Opinions
gimanhala transit hotel: a spicy buffet mel
call_me_rhia Says: It's a nice hotel and restaurant set in a park, not far from the rock temples. I think it's mainly geared for tour buses, only we did not see any when we were there. The usual buffet food - quite uninspiring, with no particular qualities or demerits. particularly good was...
jennifermueller Says: We picked up some very nice wade and roti at a shop in town to eat on the road. The shop keeper seems suprised that we wanted short eats rather than packaged cookies and biscuts. I don't know if that's what the tourists usually want in local stores since that's what you can...
Helpfulness
We hired a car & driver for a few days, who sorted out all our accommodation & entrances. We gave a list of the places we wanted to visit. He wittled that list down to a realistic size & off we went.
I would definately recommend doing this rather than hiring a car. the driving is crazy here.
The main Columbo to Galle road was built to be a normal 2 way road. It is not unusual to see at least 4 lanes of traffic on it!.
Updated Apr 5, 2004
Photographing the caves and others...
hydronetta Says: Making photos inside the caves is now possible. But remember you're not allowed to take photos of you sitting next to a Buddha statue, or having your back to him. This is the reason photography was banned for some time as a female tourist had herself photographed on the lap...
call_me_rhia Says: In Dambulla there are officially three things to see: the Golden Temple, the Buddhist museum and the Rock Temples. All three erquire separate tickets, but only one is really worth your time and money: the rock temples. The price is 500 rupess (source: november 2004) and the...
the rock temples: not exactly by the parking lot
call_me_rhia Says: The rock temples are not exactly located by the parking lot: you'll still have to walk uphill 20/30 minutes - over a path or some stairs. it's neither long nor difficult but... you'll be sweating a lot. So be warned: wear appropriate shoes and bring plenty of water or you'll...
Enjoy the monkeys but be alert.
jennifermueller Says: There are a lot of monkeys near the Dambulla Cave Temples. Be cautious. Wild animals are always unpredicable no matter how friendly, cute or "just like people" they might seem. We didn't actually see anyone feeding these monkeys but it probably happens because one monkey...
Helpfulness
There are many vendors on the climb up to the cave temples. A simple, "no thank you" will suffice unless you've shown interest in what they are selling and then they are pretty persistent.
Sometimes vendors at tourists sites are selling handicrafts at ridiculous prices but sometimes not. Some prices at sites were right in line with what the stores in towns charged for similar items. Other times, there was a serious markup - cultural triangle fund publications, for example. Even after bargaining, you may pay a bit for the convenience of buying off the side of the mountain.
Once you've looked at something, it may take lots of "no, really, I'm not interested"s to shake them. Keep in mind that they are trying to make a living. There are no vendors inside the temples.
Updated Feb 1, 2004
DAO Says: The Golden Temple of Dambulla is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When you visit you will find out that it is a mind-blowing experience. As you walk up the mountain past the wild monkeys, you start to feel like you are on sacred ground. Just outside the caves are ‘modern’...
call_me_rhia Says: Officially Dambulla is a part of the Cultural Triangle declared by UNESCO - but personally Dambulla is a unique place - possibly the highlight of my trip. I found unexpected charm, there: 5 wonderful temples carved into rock and painted with ancient frescos and filled with...
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temples of rock, temples of charm
wonderful examples or religious art. For more pictures see my travelogue inside the temples . .
We stopped in Dambulla to see the cave temples. This photo was taken about 1/3 of the way up to the caves.
Situated on the midway between Kandy and Polonnaruwa, Dambulla is a convenient short stopover to visit the famous cave temples. These are man-made grottos full of paintings (covering almost every...
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