Tour of Dambulla Cave Temple, Sri Lanka

We went to the Dambulla Cave Temple on our way from Habarana to Kandy. It is another of those temples that is located on top of a rock that required climbing for about 15-20 minutes. Surprisingly, despite having trekked all the way up to Sigiriya (Read: Tour of Sigiriya, Sri Lanka) the previous evening, our legs weren’t sore. And we happily climbed the Dambulla rock. It helped that it was raining that day…with the heat and humidity at bay, and the passing clouds creating drama around the cave’s skies, we soaked into the beauty around us, and in no time, reached up…

To think that I got a little scared by the gigantic golden Buddha at the foothill, wondering if the temple up there would also be so loud! On the contrary, here was a piece of heritage. Lined with five caves that house more than 150 statues of Buddha and many paintings and murals, the temple complex is more than 2000 years old. Extremely well maintained and clean, you will not mind walking bare-feet around the complex ad in the shrine rooms.

It was appalling, however, to find tourists taking photographs using flash inside the shrine rooms where flash-photography is forbidden. They didn’t care the CCTV cameras fitted inside. Neither do the temple authorities do enough to stop such blatant disregard of the rules and regulations of the temple. Made me wonder, if the same tourists could do the same thing, in a western country! No they wouldn’t!

Tips for the Dambulla Cave Temple Tour:

1. Tickets are sold at a counter right at the entrance..
2. Dambulla Cave Temple, as the name suggests, is a religious site. This means, you need to adhere to a dress code that includes wearing dresses that cover women’s arms and legs. Men cannot wear shorts to the temple.
3. Wear good walking shoes. Told you, you have to climb the rock which, in some places, have no stairs cut in them and you have to trek up. Extremely exciting…
4. The shrine rooms are rich in history. Hence, strongly recommend you to avail the services of a guide.
5. The complete tour takes about an hour, and hence, you needn’t carry snacks. But do carry enough water. We got rains and hence, weren’t thirsty…
6. Double-check with your little one if he/she can make it to the top. Ours was super excited, took the umbrella as her walking stick and led us up!

After the Dambulla Cave Temple tour, our next stop was that for the Spice & Herbal Garden tour along the Habarana-Kandy road. Read about it here — Spice & Herbal Garden tour in Srilanka

P.S:  For a complete Sri Lanka itinerary and tour details, read — Best Itinerary & Blogs for Sri Lanka Road Trip