About Sri Lanka - Dambulla

Dambulla is a small town located in the Matale District, 29 miles away from Kandy. Dambulla temple situated in a vast isolated rock mask 175 feet in height. After climbing some distance you can come to the rock temple. This temple is belonged to the first century BC and named as a World Heritage Sight. It is a large cave complex. The rock is 100 metres high and the view across the plain you can enjoy the vies of the Sigiriya rock.

The area is thought to be inhabited from as early as the 7th to 3rd century BC. Statues and paintings in these caves date back to the 1st century BC. But the paintings and statues were repaired and repainted in 11th, 12th, and 18th century AD. The caves in the city provided refuge to King Valagamba (also called Vattagamini Abhaya) in his 14 year long exile from the Anuradapura kingdom. Buddhist monks meditating in the caves of Dambulla at that time provided the exiled king protection from his enemies. When King Valagamba returned to the throne at Anuradapura kingdom in the 1st century BC, he had a magnificent rock temple built at Dambulla as a gratitude to the monks in Dambulla. Ibbankatuwa Prehistoric burial site near Dhambulla, where prehistoric (2700 years old) human skeletons were found according to scientific analysis gives evidence on civilisations in this area long before arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Evidence of ancient people living on agriculture have been detected in this area for over 2700 years according to archaeological findings. (750 BC)

There are series of 5 caves turned into the shrine. You might be able to see numorous images of Buddha at this place. The rock ceiling is also covered with frescoes which depict great event of life of Buddha, and land marks in the history of Sinhala people. In one cave you can see the image of god Vishnu a diety associated with Buddhism. In another cave there is a spring which is amazing. The dops of water trickle from the roof of the cave never get dried during the drought not does it increases during the rainy season. There is a large bowl to collect the water. This trickle of water may have been there from ancient times. Even once in your life time you must enjoy the peaceful environment of the temple of Dambulla.