01. Dambulla cave temple
Dambulla cave temple is a world heritage site declared by the UNESCO in 1991 and located Close proximity to the Dambulla city in the Central province of Sri Lanka, which is around 160 Km (3 hours) away from the Colombo City. Dambulla cave temple is one of the main tourist attractions of the Sri Lanka and the one of the most popular Buddhist temple among the tourists, because of the colorful paintings and statues.
History of the Dambulla cave temple dates back to the 2nd century BC (2200 years).According to the inscriptions found in the drip ledge, King Saddhatissa (137-119 BC) donated the caves to the Buddhist monks as a dwelling place. King Walagamba (89-77 BC), son of the King Saddhatissa converted the caves into a Buddhist temple (shrine room).
The temple complex consist of five natural caves well preserved colorful paintings and sculptures from 8th to 20th century AD and considered as the largest collection of cave paintings in the south and southeast Asian regions. The five caves in the present temple completed during the various stages under the patronage of few of the kings.158 numbers of Buddha statues in Standing, Seated & Reclined postures can be seen in the caves along with the statues of Hindu gods, Deities, Bodhisattva (Aspirant Buddha) and royal portrait sculptures. The paintings in the caves are the most artistic heritage of the Dambulla, which covers more than 2000m² over the uneven surface of the caves. Dambulla cave temple considered as the source book of study of Sri Lankan art & Sculpture especially in the Kandyan period.
Dambulla cave is 20 minutes to 40 minutes of hike depend on the physical fitness. There are around 360 steps to the Dambulla cave temple. Best time to climb the Dambulla cave temple is early morning or the Evening due to the excess heat during the day time. Dambulla cave temple ticket counters open for the tourist from the 7.00 am to 5.00 pm. Since this is a Buddhist temple, your dress should be below the knees & should cover your shoulders. You can keep your shoes in the shoe counter near to the entrance at the top.
02. Exploring the Dambulla special economic center
Dambulla Special Economic center is located in the Dambulla city limit. This was established to collect the Fruits and Vegetables grows in the area and distributed to the other parts of the country. Wholesale business of Fruits and vegetables are doing in here and you may explore the market and see the various types of fruits and vegetables.