Five hours away from the hustle-bustle of Colombo lays a little town of Dambulla, home to one of the world’s famous cave temple complex – Dambulla Cave Temple. Dambulla is situated in the Matale District, North Central Province which is 148 kilometres from Colombo and 72 kilometres from Kandy. This golden cave temple complex is the largest and well-preserved structure in the island. Declared as an UNESCO World Heritage City in 1991, the cave temple complex has five magical dimly lit caves filled with statues and walls painted with beautiful secular murals reflecting the Sinhalese Buddhist culture.
Tourists mostly visit the city to see the caves but there are other beautiful attractions such as; South Asia’s largest rose quartz mountain range, Ironwood forest known as Namal Uyana, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium which is well known for it was built in just 167 days, Dambulla Museum and Dambulla economic centre. Nearby places of interest include the Kandalama Reservoir, Nalanda Gedige, Yapahuwa Ancient Kingdom and the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest.
Dambulla is well known for its nature excursions such as hot air ballooning, elephant back riding, cycling and bird watching.
