Dambulla - Holiday Tour Packages
Dambulla is a large town that is located in the Matale District in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, specifically 148 kilometers north-east of Colombo and 72 kilometers north of Kandy. While there are not many tourist attractions in this town, except for its very famous cave temples, it is still a great stop for a vacation in Sri Lanka.
Top places to visit in Dambulla
The prime place of interest to visit in this town is the best preserved and largest cave temple complex of the country and the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, which is popular for being constructed in just 167 days. Aside from these, there is also the Ibbankatuwa pre-historic burial site, which is the most recent archaeological site found in Dambulla that bears significant historical importance. This site is located just within 3 kilometers from the cave temples, which provides evidence that indigenous civilizations were present long before the Indian influence arrived to this island country. The town also boasts of the Iron Wood Forest, which is locally known as “Na Uyana Aranya”, and South Asia’s largest rose quartz mountain range.
Top things to do in Dambulla
When visiting this town, here are the activities to enjoy:
- Explore the history of the cave temples - As your main purpose of visiting this town, you should visit the cave temples and know about the history of the place. It is believed that this area was inhabited from as early as the 7th to 3rd century BC, but paintings and statues here were found to be dating back to the 1st century BC, though they are said to be repainted and repaired in the 11th, 12th and 18th century AD. As history tells, these caves provided refuge to King Valagamba when he was exiled for 14 years from the kingdom of Anuradapura. During this time, the king was protected from his enemies with the help of meditation of Buddhist monks, who were also in the caves. When he returned to the throne, he built a magnificent rock temple in Dambulla to show his gratitude to the monks.
- Visit the Ibbankatuwa pre-historic burial site - By visiting this site, you will find pre-historic human skeletons, which were found through scientific analysis to provide evidence of some form of civilizations in the region long before Buddhism arrived in the country. According to archaeological findings, there were ancient people living on farming here for over 2,700 years ago.
Top attractions and landmarks in Dambulla
For a holiday in this town, you will have the chance to see these attractions:
- Dambulla Cave Temple - As previously mentioned, this the best preserved and largest cave temple complex in the country, including more than 80 documented caves. However, major attractions here, such as paintings and statues, are only spread in 5 of these caves.
- Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium - If you want to watch a cricket game in a scenic place, then you should not miss this stadium.
Dambulla holiday packages
To be able to get the most out of your trip to Dambulla, book Sri Lanka holiday packages with us here at La Vacanza Travel.