Dambulla Cave Temples

Impressive Buddhist Mural Paintings

Dambulla Golden Rock Cave Temple is a vast isolated rock mass 500 ft high with 1.6 kilometre around the base. The impressive Rock Temple dating to the first century B.C is found here. The caves of Dambulla sheltered King Walagamba during his 14 years of exile from Anuradhapura. When he regained the throne, he built the most magnificent of Rock Temples to be found on the island. The complex consists of five caves with over 2000 square metres of painted walls and ceilings. It is the largest area of paintings found in the world and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the first cave is a recumbent image of the Buddha 14 metres long, cut out of the Rock. There are images of deities associated with Buddhism all around. The frescoes on the ceiling date back to the 15th – 18th centuries. In the second cave, the finest and the largest of all, there are 150 life-size statues of Gods from the Buddhist religion along with numerous images of the Buddha himself.