← All articles · 2026-07-26

Dambulla

Dambulla in June 2014: a shaded climb past stalls of brass curios, and the giant golden Buddha of the temple gazing out over the green plains below.

The day after Polonnaruwa, in June 2014, we climbed the temple rock at Dambulla. It is a proper pilgrimage hill: a long shaded path, commerce at the bottom, serenity at the top, and one very large golden Buddha in between.

A shaded stone path at Dambulla lined with a stall of brass lamps, plates and carved masks, Inga and a friend walking up in sun hats — The climb starts under the trees, past a stall laying out brass lamps, plates and masks with real ambition.

Dileep and Inga on the rock path at Dambulla with the giant golden seated Buddha of the Golden Temple behind them and green plains to the horizon — Partway up, the giant golden Buddha of the Golden Temple photobombs every couple shot, with the plains rolling out green behind it.

Inga smiling with sunglasses pushed up into her hair and a Canon DSLR on a strap around her neck, green grassland blurred behind — Chief photographer, mid-assignment, June 2014.

Inside the cave temples

The reason for the climb is what waits at the top: a row of temple caves cut under the rock overhang, painted and filled with Buddhas over two thousand years of continuous redecoration.

Dileep on the paved terrace outside the white colonnaded facade of the Dambulla cave temples, a monkey crossing the stones behind him — The white colonnade tucked under the rock hides the caves behind it. Monkey included as standard.

Inga inside a Dambulla cave beside a large golden seated Buddha, with a painted royal statue and murals covering the walls — Inside the largest cave, where the statues outnumber the visitors and a king stands guard by the door.

A long row of seated Buddha statues receding into a dim painted cave at Dambulla, the ceiling covered in chequered murals — Seated Buddhas in formation, each one against its own painted halo, fading into the dark.

Cave ceiling at Dambulla painted edge to edge with rows of repeated seated Buddha figures in red and gold — The ceiling does not do blank space: repeated Buddhas by the hundred, painted straight onto the rock.

Seated Buddha statues around a stone stupa inside a Dambulla cave, one sheltered by a painted cobra hood — A stupa grows out of the cave floor, ringed by Buddhas, one of them sitting under a many-headed cobra hood.

Dambulla slots neatly between Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa on the cultural triangle run, and the view from the rock is the cheapest panorama in Sri Lanka: the price is the stairs.