Reclining Buddha
About 14 m, cut from the rock.
Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dudva — CC0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Z thomas — CC BY-SA 3.0
A living Buddhist monastery in five caves beneath a great overhanging rock that rises about 160 metres above the plains of central Sri Lanka. Also called the Golden Temple of Dambulla, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991 and is the country's largest and best-preserved cave temple complex, with 157 statues and about 2,100 square metres of murals. Forest monks lived in these caves from the 3rd century BCE. Tradition says King Valagamba of Anuradhapura sheltered here in exile and, on regaining the throne in the 1st century BCE, made the caves a temple. An inscription credits the 12th-century King Nissanka Malla with gilding statues, and the kings of Kandy repainted the caves in the 18th century, leaving most of today's murals. The arched colonnade in front dates from the 1930s. The first cave holds a reclining Buddha about 14 metres long, carved from the rock. The second and largest, the Cave of the Great Kings, runs about 52 metres, lined with seated and standing Buddhas and statues of kings and gods beneath a ceiling painted with scenes from the Buddha's life; water dripping from a crack in its roof is collected as sacred. The third cave holds 18th-century Kandyan-style paintings. The caves are a 10- to 20-minute climb up the rock above Dambulla town. Cover shoulders and knees, remove shoes and hats, never pose for photos in front of Buddha statues, and guard belongings from monkeys. Sigiriya Rock is about 17 km north-east as the crow flies; nearby Ibbankatuwa has megalithic burials from about 700–450 BCE.
About 14 m, cut from the rock.
The largest, with a painted ceiling.
Across the plains to Sigiriya.
Dambulla Rock, Dambulla, Matale District, Central Province
Not the ancient part: the giant golden statue and the Buddhist museum at the foot of the rock are modern additions, and the old caves are higher up. Foreign visitors buy tickets at the office by the car park on the far side of the rock, per visitor guides; none are sold at the top.
Early morning or late afternoon, when the rock is cooler underfoot; the ticket office closes around 5 pm, per visitor guides. Towards dusk, swallows swoop around the cave entrances.