Dambulla

Dambulla is a big town, located in the Matale District, Central Province of Sri Lanka, located 148 km north-east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy, the Golden Rock Temple a few Kilometers south of the market town of Dambulla, is its most famous and spectacular and the temple is in a cave under a range of granite hillocks which rise 160 meters above the surrounding plains.

Major attractions of the area contain the largest and best conserved Cave Temple Complex of Sri Lanka, and the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium.

Statues and paintings in these caves date back to the 1st century BC. But the paintings and statues were repaired and repainted in 11th, 12th, and 18th century AD. The caves in the city provided refuge to King Valagamba in his 14 yearlong exile from the Anuradhapura kingdom.