Two Days in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, Dambulla, Sri Lanka

By far, my favorite place to visit in Sri Lanka as a tourist was Dambulla. A lot of people come to this area for two reasons, the Dambulla Cave Temple and the ancient ruins of the rock fortress of Sigiriya. A lot of itineraries make this a pit stop, sometimes combining both things in one day. However, staying overnight in Dambulla was actually one of the most relaxing times we had on the trip, and this is why I would recommend it.

Dambulla is known for the Dambulla Cave Temple, which we put on our itinerary mostly because of its importance, though pictures absolutely do not do it justice. It’s also more than just a temple, because you have to hike up and down to reach it. I suggest you do what we did, which is go up to Dambulla Cave Temple and come down via King’s Way to the Golden Temple, with the giant Buddha. The walk up starting at the cave temple is on stone steps with the view of the surrounding mountains getting better and better as you ascend.

One you get to the top, even before you enter the temple complex, you’ll want to spend some time just admiring the scenery below and watching the monkeys that are up there run around and play. Be careful with your belongings as these monkeys aren’t afraid to approach you and snatch things they think might be food. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).