Dambulla travel guide

Dambulla is a city in Central province of Sri Lanka. Tourists come here to view the cave temples.

Understand

Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. Major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Gautama Buddha and his life. There are a total of 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of gods and goddesses.

Get in

Buses from Colombo (148 km west), Kandy (72 km south, 2-3 hours), Anuradhapura (2-3 hours), Sigiriya and other places arrive regularly at the Dambulla bus station on Kandy road.
From Sigiriya, you can continue by direct bus to Dambulla. Buses run on this route at intervals of 30 minutes and cost Rs 100. The last bus for Dambulla leaves at 18:00. Alternatively, you can take a tuk tuk to go back to Inamaluwa junction (10 km), from where you can take the bus to Dambulla as well, or you can go to Dambulla from Sigiriya (18 km) by tuk tuk which will cost about Rs 1,000.

Luxury buses also run from various points in Colombo, taking 4 hours and costing Rs. 1500-2800, bookable here.

From Kandy: take A/C Bus 43 from here, departs irregularly when seats are filled, ticket Rs. 470, takes 2 hours to reach Dambulla.

• Dambulla Main Bus Station, Kandy - Jaffna Hwy.

See

• Dambulla cave temple (Golden Temple), Kandy - Jaffna Hwy (Entrance is on Kandy Road). 07:00-19:00. The main if not the only attraction of the town, also inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The temple is composed of five caves which are accessible after a 10-minute stone stairs climb. These caves contain well conserved statues and paintings. If you come from the big golden Buddha side, you will have to go over to the other side of the hill to get a ticket, so it is better to enter from the side road where the parking is. Rs 3000 for foreigners (cash only).

Sankassapura Senasanaya Anakatawa (Sankassapura Temple), VJ89+457, Dambulla (On the other side of Ibbankatuwa Wewa from Dambulla). 07:00-21:30. A quirky little hillside temple, follow the steps up a hill lined with statues of monks, passing various vignettes from Buddha's history (such as Devadatta attempting to crush him with a rock from on high) and make your way up to the top for a pretty decent sunset view Rs 500 for foreigners (cash only).

Do

Cricket: First class matches and internationals are played at Rangiri Dambulla Stadium, by the lake 2 km southwest of city centre.

Buy

Money

The People's Bank on the main beach road is a good place to use an ATM with no local withdrawal charge. Maximum withdrawal 200,000 rupees.

Near the clock tower is a good money changer located inside a gold shop called "Newa dambulu gold house".

Eat

• Benthota Bake House. A nice food court in a central location. Travellers recommend the A/C coffee shop upstairs called Island Tea Co & Ceylon Coffee Club. Outside seems to be a major drop off / pick up point for northbound buses.
• Ariyam, ☏ +94778964960. A beautiful, small cafe/restaurant run by owner and chef Sugath, catering mostly for tourists with Sri Lankan food

Drink

• Cafe De Skylark, 80 Kurunegala Rd (just south west of the clock tower). Attempting its best to be a Starbucks clone, this place has air conditioning, excellent seating and a decent coffee menu. 500-2000Rs.

Sleep

There are both simple guest houses and more up-scale resorts available, some close to the temple complex, about 1 km south from the town centre.

Budget

• Dambulla Tourist Resort, Kandy - Jaffna Hwy (In front of Post Office), ☏ +94 72 201 5930. Basic rooms with fan and private bathroom. Ideally situated between the bus station and the Dambulla Cave Temple, on the main road but not noisy. 15-20$ (2018).
• Dambulla City Hostel, 655/D Aluthwaththa Road (down the side street next to Cargills; follow until you see the big sign for the property). In a quiet little side street, yet close to plenty of food and amenities, this place offers good dorm beds with power, mosquito netting and your own personal fan. The owners and family are very nice and helpful and provide breakfast in the busy season. 1500Rs dorm.

Splurge

• Amaya Lake, Kap Ela, Kandalama, ☏ +94 66 4461500, +94 66 2286823, amayalake@amayaresorts.com. 120 rooms. From 119USD (2013).
• Heritance Kandalama Hotel, ☏ +94 66 5555000, +94 773043554, kandalama@heritancehotels.com. Beautiful 5-star hotel with great views from the rooms and the pool. From $132 (2013).
• Kassapa Lions Rock, Digampathana , Kimbissa, ☏ +94 66 5677440. 31 rooms with a veranda that opens to a mini garden, all of which have air-conditioning, satellite TV and mini-bar. From 100$ (2013).

Go next

• Colombo There are several buses to Colombo from the bus station, it costs about 140 LKR in non A/C buses.
• Anuradhapura
• Sigiriya Just 30mn north-east of Dambulla, you can easily visit Lion Rock as a day trip from Dambulla (buses at the Main Bus Station)
• Matale
• Kandy
• Polonnaruwa located 67 km east of Dambulla

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