Dambulla Cave Temple.

Dambulla Cave Temple is promoted as one of the main tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. Visiting Tourists must not miss this place as it is on the main road which connects the other tourist destinations here. Visit and explore this temple complex in the day time. Take note this is not a place for enjoyment but it is a place for worshiping Lord Buddha in peaceful atmosphere. you must wear clothes like when visiting a Church with long dresses. You can reach there by travelling 150 Km from Colombo or from Kandy along the 75Km route. It is easy to reach there while you are on the way to Trincomalee, Anuradhapura or to Batticaloa, as you can visit this place in the middle of the travel route..

The place is also called as Golden Temple and as Dambulla cave temple. The cave temple is located 160 Meters above the sea level. To reach the temple on mountain top you can climb through the rocky path and paved steps. Many places on the path are surrounded by shady trees. On the hill top it is open plain. On a sunny day, it is hot over there. While inside the cave is cool where the statues are in sitting, standing and reclining positions. Above the statues and behind them are covered with beautiful ancient drawing that dates 2 - 3 BC.

You can climb the hill with shoes or sandals and then leave them at the safe guarding point at the entrance of the cave temple. You must wear fully covering clothes specially those visiting women to respect the shrine and the worshiping people. On the bottom of the cave, there is a museum available for you to view the history of the Golden Temple and the related materials.

Take little care when you are climbing up, as there a group of monkeys that are interested in the flowers that are brought by the devotees for Poojas at the hill top. When going to take photos of the Golden temple and the Cave complex follow the instructions that are posted there.

Dambulla Town is located near to the temple where you can find hotels, dining facilities and communication centers. Dambulla town is considered as the tour routing centre. From here you can move on to many parts of Sri Lanka. Most of the tourists while staying here decide on which side to go on to continue with their tour plan. Lot of hotels and Guest houses are available here. You can find good Restaurants and Bakery shops in the surrounding area.

Wikipedia.
Tripadvisor.