Last November I spent a couple of weeks motorcycling in Sri Lanka – an experience that leaves you with the distinct impression that every motorist has been hired to run you down. Kamakaze bus drivers and scroungers aside, it’s a beautiful country with a rich history and many spectacular Buddhist sites to explore. One of the most enigmatic is the cave temple at Dambulla.
The World Heritage Site is situated 148 km east of Colombo. The series of five caves are covered with 2,000 m2 of colourful Buddhist murals and also feature 157 Buddha images. Established in third century B.C., the complex has been used as a place of worship ever since.
The caves are located in a hillside and reached by a steep flight of stairs. For those interested in learning more about the temple’s history, there’s also a Buddhist museum situated in front of an enormous, and more recent, golden Buddha.
I’ll try and post more images from Sri Lanka in the near future.