Dambulla in Sri Lanka

General information about Dambulla

Dambulla (Dambulla, Dambulla) is a major city and tourist attraction (cave temple) in central province Matale in Sri Lanka (see Dambulla on the map of Sri Lanka). Its central location made this city a major commercial center. There are many wholesale markets for agricultural products, so that trading activity does not subside even with the arrival of night.

Dambulla is a very popular place with tourists in Sri Lanka, and is better known not as a city, but as a separate tourist attraction - "cave temples of Dambulla", which is also called The "Golden Temple of Dambulla". Most tourists visit the cave temples, which were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991, with a tour or self-drive, without even staying in the city.

Nevertheless, the city has a basic tourist infrastructure that will allow you to spend a couple of days here, if necessary, or just spend the night if you need to make a stop along the route. Dambulla can also be used as a base to visit Sigiriya. There are no other reasons to visit Dambulla. In the evenings, there is absolutely nothing to do here, even it is not easy to find where to eat.

How to get to Dambulla

Dambulla can be reached by bus, rented transport or taxi.

The city is connected by bus routes to all major cities "of the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka" (Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Matale, Kandy), as well as direct flights from Colombo. Buses run frequently, and there is no need to buy tickets in advance: just come to the station and buy a ticket for the nearest flight. Buses don't run at night.

Buses arrive and depart from the city station (station on the map). From there, the temple can be reached on foot in 20 minutes or by tuk-tuk for 100 rupees. Some buses pass right by the cave temple and you can ask to drop you off there.

Dambulla hotels where to stay

In Dambulla there are a sufficient number of hotels, and at the entrance to the city there are much more of them than in the center. Many tourists prefer to stay in close proximity to the local attractions – cave temples. But it should be borne in mind that the hotels located here are often filled.

You can find and book accommodation in Dambulla on these sites or through the search form. All sites have a Russian interface and Russian-language customer support, a lot of reviews from real guests.

• 🛌 Search for hotels in Dambulla on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Dambulla on Trip.com (💥 our choice)
• 🛌 Search for hotels on Ostrovok.ru

Dambulla hotels on the map

Attractions Of Dambulla. What to see

• Dambulla Cave Temples and Golden Temple of Dambulla

  

  Although the cave temples of Dambulla are constantly called by another name-the "Golden Temple", in fact, these are two attractions, although they are located nearby. The Golden Temple is at the foot of the mountain, and the cave temples of Dambulla are on the mountainside at an altitude of 100-160 meters. Visiting both attractions is included in the price of a single ticket.

  The Golden Temple is a modern structure, finally built only in 2000 on donations from the Japanese. In fact, this is a museum, the exposition of which consists of numerous statues of the Buddha. On the right side of the building of the Golden Temple, a staircase leads to its roof, where there is a 30-meter statue of the sitting Buddha and two pavilions on the edges of it with mini-stupas. It also offers panoramic views of the surrounding area. You can climb to the roof for free. But for access to the caves will have to pay 1500 rupees (see currency of Sri Lankaand exchange rate). By some oddity, the ticket offices where entrance tickets are sold and the entrance to the cave temples themselves are separated. Moreover, the ticket offices are located at the bottom in a completely inconspicuous place (to the right behind the Golden Temple), and the entrance to the temple is at the top. Therefore, if you do not buy an entrance ticket at the bottom, you will not be allowed to enter the temple, and you will have to go down again.

  

  The climb up to the cave temples is on the left side of the Golden Temple, takes about 10 minutes and is accessible to almost everyone. The main staircase in the middle branches into two, both will lead to the temples. Along the way, there are beautiful views of the surrounding area from the height, and it is even said that in clear weather you can see the Sigiriya rock from here. Be careful there are a lot of monkeys here (see how to behave with monkeys, precautions). Having risen to the destination, it is necessary to take off your shoes and either leave them in a special booth under supervision (25 rupees). Do not leave your shoes unattended as they are likely to be snatched away by monkeys. Clothing should also cover the shoulders and knees. Further, having passed the entrance control (sometimes even bags and backpacks are checked), a series of Temple halls carved into the Rock appears.

  Another interesting place here is the Museum of Buddhism. It is located at the bottom, right in the temple building under the Buddha statue (entrance by the main staircase), and anyone can visit it. The cost of visiting the museum is included in the ticket to the cave temples.

  The cave complex includes five main temples, each of which is located in a separate cave. All the caves are very close, on the same level:

  • Devaraja Viharaya (Devaraja Viharaya) with a 14-meter statue of the Reclining Buddha
  • Maharaja Viharaya (Maharaja Viharaya) - with a stupa surrounded by 11 statues of Buddha, frescoes
  • Maha Alut Viharaya (Maha Alut Viharaya) – many statues of Buddha, frescoes on the walls and a statue of King Kirti Sri Rajasinha (1747-1782)
  • Pachima Viharaya (Pachima Viharaya) with Dagobah, which became the object of encroachments of treasure hunters
  • Devana Alut Viharaya-new temple

  Unfortunately, the rooms from the inside are lit very poorly, and therefore, it is not easy to make good photos. And there is something to see, because some statues and frescoes have been preserved since the construction of the complex, and this is the I century BC.

  

  In the largest cave in the center is a vessel of water, surrounded by a cage. Drops of water drip from the ceiling of the cave, and gradually fill the vessel with water, which is then used during ceremonies. The water is considered sacred as it is said to rise up the wall and then accumulate on the ceiling and drip down.

  With the largest collection of Buddha statues and being the largest cave temple in South Asia, the temples attract a huge number of tourists and pilgrims every year.

  🕐 Working hours: 07:30 – 18:00, break at the box office from 12.30-13.00

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: 10 USD (1500 rupees), parking for Transport 50 rupees. As usual in Sri Lanka, you will learn about the need to pay for parking only when you are about to leave.

  🚶 How to get there: Cave temple on the map

• Dambulla Museum

  100 m south of the Golden Temple of Dambulla, along the highway, there is a museum. The main exhibits of the Dambulla Museum are copies of frescoes and rock paintings found in Sri Lanka, as well as items from Cave Temples.

  🕐 Working hours: 07:30 – 16:30.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: 230 rupees adult / 115 children.

  🚶 How to get there: Museum on the map

• Ancient Stupa Dambulla Somawathi Stupa

  

  To the west of The Hill on which the Temple of Dambulla is located, at the foot, there is a stupa designated as Somawathi Stupa, it is surrounded by unknown ruins of ancient buildings, and next to another platform with ruins. It was not possible to determine the belonging and age of these buildings, no explanations and tablets with a description were found, but archaeological excavations are actively conducted to this day, and perhaps soon this place will open some new secrets.

  This is a very interesting place especially for those who want to see what most of the mass tourists usually do not see.

  🚶 How to get there: to get to this stupa, you can walk down from the cave temples on the Western descent (Stupa on the map). By motorcycle or car you can drive up close to the stupa, if you use the broken asphalt road to the left of the main entrance to the Golden Temple.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

• Dambulla wholesale vegetable market

  

  If you are staying in Dambulla and really do not know what to do in the evening, you can go to the huge wholesale market. There is not much to do or buy here, but it can be interesting to see how big business is done in Sri Lanka. This market is one of the largest in the region.

  🚶 How to get there: Market on the map

Photo Of Dambulla