The Cave Temples of Dambulla |
The Cave Temples of Dambulla has been declared world
heritage site.
Distance from Colombo 148 km ; Typical Weather: Warm & Sunny |
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Dambulla or the Golden Rock is a cave temple, which dates back to
the 1st century BC. Complex of Buddhist image houses containing Buddhist
wall and ceiling painting and sculpture with its origin going back
to the Anuradhapura period. Its rock ceiling is one large sweep of
colorful frescoes, which depict Buddhist mythology, and the tales
of the Buddha's previous births. |
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Within the cave temple is the collection of the largest number of
Buddha statues is one place. Dambulla is a vast isolated rock mass
and it was here that King Valagam Bahu took refuge in the 1st century
B.C. He later turned the caves into a rock temple. Some of the frescoes
are over 2,000 years old and there is a colossal figure of the recumbent
Buddha carved out of the living rock, some 14 meter long. |
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