Dambulla cave temple, also known as the Golden
Temple of Dambulla is a World Heritage Site (1991) in Sri Lanka,
situated in the central part of the country. It is the largest and
best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160
m over the surrounding plains.There are more than 80 documented caves
in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over five
caves, which contain statues and paintings, 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. The
latter include Vishnu and the Ganesha. The murals cover an area of
2,100 square metres (23,000 sq ft). Depictions on the walls
of the caves include the temptation by the demon Mara, and Buddha's
first sermon.
Prehistoric Sri Lankans would have lived in these
cave complexes before the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka as there
are burial sites with human skeletons about 2700 years old in this
area, at Ibbankatuwa near the Dambulla cave complexes.
Photos from Spring 2016
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