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Dambulla

Dambulla is a town in Sri Lanka's Central Province, in the Matale District. It lies along the A9 highway and is a gateway to Sri Lanka’s Hill Country, about 140-150 kilometers from Colombo and near the ancient rock fortress of Sigiriya. The town is best known for the Cave Temple complex, also called the Golden Temple of Dambulla, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The complex is set on a 160-meter-high limestone outcrop and comprises five caves that functioned as a

UNESCO inscribed the Golden Temple of Dambulla in 1991 as part of its World Heritage recognition for

monastic
site
for
centuries.
The
caves
house
a
large
number
of
statues
of
the
Buddha
and
a
celebrated
sequence
of
mural
paintings
that
cover
the
walls
and
ceilings,
illustrating
scenes
from
the
life
of
the
Buddha
and
Jataka
tales.
The
temple's
early
development
is
traditionally
dated
to
the
1st
century
BCE
during
the
reign
of
King
Valagamba,
with
later
additions
and
refinements
through
subsequent
centuries,
including
extensive
decorating
in
the
18th
century.
The
interiors
include
an
altar
hall
in
the
main
cave
with
a
prominent
image
of
the
Buddha
and
many
surrounding
figures.
its
well-preserved
cave
temple
art
and
its
representation
of
the
Buddhist
devotional
tradition
in
Sri
Lanka.
Today,
Dambulla
is
a
major
pilgrimage
site
and
popular
tourist
destination,
accessible
by
road
and
rail
from
Colombo
and
other
towns,
and
it
serves
as
a
base
for
visits
to
nearby
Sigiriya
and
other
Central
Province
attractions.