Dambulla Cave Temple
The caves at first came into use as a refuge for King Valagambahu in 1st century BC. Concealed by the local monks, upon returning from exile to his throne at Anuradhapura, he had the magnificent cave temple built for them. The cave temple consists of a complex of Buddhist image houses. Its rock ceiling is one large sweep of colorful frescoes, some of which dates back to over 2,000 years, which depicts Buddhist mythology, and the tales of the Buddha’s previous births. This cave temple has the largest number of Buddha statues all housed in one place, including a 14 meter long, colossal figure of the recumbent Buddha carved out of the rock.
You May Also Like
Sinharaja Rainforest
The magnificent Sinharaja rainforest and the village of Kitulgala, which is popular for white water rafting, are situated in the western foothills, sandwiched between the west coast and the central highlands. This is an area of rolling hills, tropical rain forests and winding rivers. The Sinharaja tropical rainforest is renowned as a hotspot for birdlife. […]
Nuwaraliya
Nuwara Eliya is often referred to by the Sri Lankan tourist industry as ‘Little England’. While most British visitors struggle to recognise modern England in Nuwara Eliya, the toy-town ambience does have a rose-tinted English country village feel to it, though it comes with a disorienting surrealist edge. Three-wheelers whiz past red telephone boxes.
Dickwella
Scuba Diving in Dickwella – Dickwella has some of the island’s best dive spots. A PADI-approved diving centre offers diving from beginners to advanced. Spotting bright corals and exotic is easy and there is the opportunity to explore the wrecks of a steam ship and cargo ship. These two wrecks are old enough and substantial […]
Udawalawe National Park
With herds of elephants, wild buffalo, sambar deer and leopards, Uda Walawe National Park is the Sri Lankan national park that best rivals the savannah reserves of Africa. In fact, for elephant-watching, Uda Walawe often surpasses many of the most famous East African national parks. The park, which centres on the 308.2-sq-km Uda Walawe Reservoir, […]