Dambulla

The High Temples of Dambulla have existed for 2000 years and initially served as a refuge for King Vattagamani Abhaya for 14 years. On his return to Anuradhapura, he donated the caves to Buddhist monks. In the following 1700 years, the cave temple was repeatedly donated by the kings, mostly in the form of Buddha figures.

The city of Dambulla is located in the heart of Sri Lanka's cultural triangle: If you drive from Anuradhapura to Kandy, you will automatically pass the cave temples with the golden Buddha statues.

Things to do in Dambulla

The five largest caves can be visited, which have also been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991 as the "Golden Cave Temple of Dambulla". The cave temple is located at an altitude of 160 meters and can be reached by a rather steep ascent without stairs.

The five caves are filled with sitting, standing, and reclining Buddha figures. In addition to these figures and stupas, some of the Sri Lankan kings such as the important Nissanka Malla (1187-1196) are also represented with statues. Even Hindu god figures, whose meaning is woven into the legends of the temple, adorn the caves. The walls and ceilings of the caves, which are up to 37 m long and 7 m high, are often decorated with paintings.

Dambulla is considered the center of vegetable cultivation in Sri Lanka due to clever irrigation systems. Therefore, a visit to the vegetable market is worthwhile.

Our tip: at the full moon in April/May you can attend the impressive Rangiri Dambulla Maha Perahera, a Buddhist procession.

Best time to visit and climate in Dambulla

In Dambulla it is usually very hot and it rains quite a lot. The months of January to March or June to August are the most recommended for a visit. At the same time, February (21 to 30 degrees) is particularly dry and cool. In the months of April and May it gets very hot and there are frequent heavy downpours. June to August are the driest months, but it gets hotter than January to March. Most rainfall falls from October to December.

Travel tours through Dambulla

Half a day is enough to visit the cave temples. It takes about half an hour to ascend and descend. It takes about half an hour to ascend and descend.

Dambulla is about a 30-minute drive from Sigiriya and 1.5 hours each from the royal cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura. It is possible to visit Dambulla from Sigiriya in a day trip. Alternatively, you can spend the night in Dambulla and drive to Sigiriya for a (half) day.