Dambulla

The largest and best preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka, The Dambulla Cave Temple rock towers 160 meters over the surrounding plains. Despite the fact that there are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area 5 of them take precedence above the others. These caves contain statues and paintings related to Lord Buddha and his life. With a total of 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of Sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of god and goddess it is a sight to behold! The murals in these caves cover an area of 2,100 square meters and depictions in them include Buddha's temptation by demon Mara and Buddha's first sermon. Prehistoric Sri Lankans have lived in these cave complexes before the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka as discovered by existence of burial sites with human skeletons about 2700 years old in this area, at Ibbankatuwa near the Dambulla cave complexes.

The five caves under a vast overhanging rock, carved with a drip line to keep the interiors dry date back to the 1st century BC. Inside the caves, the ceilings are painted with intricate patterns of religious images which follow the contours of the rock. The Dambulla cave monastery is still functional and remains the best-preserved of all ancient edifices in Sri Lanka. King Valagambahu is traditionally thought to have converted the caves into a temple in the 1st century BC. Exiled from Anuradhapura, he sought refuge here from South Indian usurpers for 15 years. After reclaiming his capital, the King built this temple in thankful worship.

Dambulla is an outstanding example of the religious art and expression of Sri Lanka and South and South-East Asia. The excavated shrine-caves, their painted surfaces and statuary are unique in scale and degree of preservation. The monastery includes significant masterpieces of 18th century art, in the Sri Lankan school of Kandy.