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Golden Temple of Dambullah

5 reviews of Golden Temple of Dambullah

The Dambulla Cave Temples

The Golden Temple of Dambulla is an impressive temple complex in Dambulla, Sri Lanka most famous for the spectacular and Dambulla Cave Temples World Heritage Site. First, let's get the logistics out of the way: the temple itself is located in the outskirts of Dambulla so to get there you should probably take a tuk-tuk from your hotel (it's a quick and cheap trip).

At the entrance, you'll see a truly bizarre museum whose entrance is the mouth of a wild-eyed face complete with teeth and everything. The museum (which we skipped) is topped by a towering golden Buddha. You can access the seated golden deity by the side steps to get a closer look and enjoy the mischievous monkeys scavenging around the fruit and flowers left as offerings.


Afterwards, its a short but sweaty hike up the hill to get to the entrance to the incredible Dambulla Cave Temples. I've written about the individual caves in detail, so I'll just summarize by saying that the Dambulla Cave Temples are one of the most amazing and impacting places I've ever seen. The complex was built by King Valagamba of Anuradhapura after he sought shelter here during a Tamil invasion and, as a token of gratitude, created a monastery on the site in the 1st century BC. The complex features five caves, hundreds of rock-hewn Buddhas, and some of the most intricate and amazing frescoes found anywhere on Earth. In fact, my wife and I both agreed that the second cave, known as the Cave of the Great Kings, was the favorite thing we saw during our two week tour of Sri Lanka.

Seriously...the Dambulla Cave Temples deserve to be ranked among the ancient wonders of the world, and when Sri Lanka's war-tainted image eventually fades away, they will be. If you can, visit them soon so you can enjoy their majesty in peace, as we did, before they get overrun with crowds.
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Dambulla Monastery

The Dambulla rock monastery just outside the town of the same name, and is famous for the beautiful murals. It is UNESCO world heritage. The monastery is on a rock 160 meters high overlooking the prairie, and what views are the five most spectacular caves. But there are more than 80 around the main monastery, with Buddha statues and paintings. More than 150 statues in the five caves. Small Hindu temples have also been installed to honor the god Vishnu and Ganesh, the Buddhists worship too. Over 2500 years ago that the Sinhalese lived and prayed in these caves. What you see now dates from the first century BC.

The paintings are well preserved, and the temple is still used today as a place of worship.
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