After a bus stop we arrive at Dambulla, our next stop in Sri Lanka. If you come here it is for one reason: Rock temple, a complex of 5 Buddhist caves hidden in a mountain 160 m high. That means one thing: there are a few stairs that are waiting for you! Yuppi!
The truth, after seeing the caves of Ellora left us a little indifferent. In addition the multitudes of Chinese taking photos even in the shadows of the ants did not help much. Of course the views, the monkeys, monkeys as always, and the company deserved the climb!
As soon as you arrive at the complex you will be welcomed by a museum whose door is neither more nor less than the mouth of something very rare ... between monster, dragon and monkey.
And now to top off the dose of freak: to the right of the Giant Budda there are a few statues of monks that look like mannequins! A weird tad ...
We start the rise towards the caves (we have already told you that there were no stairs?) and the truth is that the walk is pretty cool. After 3 liters of water, and a few stops, we reach the caves. There we could see reclining Buddhas, Buddhist frescoes, statuettes, altars and contemplate the prayers of the pilgrims.
The cave that we liked the most was the second That, apart from being the largest (so that later they say that size does not matter hehe), we found the one that had more details. Also in its center you can see a vessel that collects the drops filtered by the rocks that the monks use for ceremonies ...
And speaking of ceremonies, this is where Lety turned 19 + 10 years old and what better way to start a new year than with a piece of dawn?
There is not much else to do in Dambulla, we use it as a base to visit the ancient cities of Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa ... we will tell you!
USEFUL INFO
How to get?
We arrived by bus deluxe-minivan from Anuradhapura cost us 350 LAK / person (a scam!) And it took a little while and something, the local bus cost about half and takes longer, of course! Our accommodation was about 8 km from Dambulla towards Sigiriya and we got a tuctuc for 700 LAK that took us to the hotel, did not wait 5 minutes and then took us to the caves.
Where to sleep?
We did night at the Govipala Cottage
Visit of the caves
Admission is 1,500 LAK. A tuktuk from the center costs about 200 LAK. You can also arrive by local bus or return for about 10 LAK per head.
The visit consists of a rarete temple at the bottom and then some stairs that take you to the caves. The ascent is done in a half hour or three quarters and is not too demanding, although it is necessary to bring water. There are quite a few monkeys but they are not dangerous. When you arrive at the top they ask for the ticket (EYE! You have to buy it below that does not sell it up and you will have to go down again!) And the caves are together one after the other. The visit itself is not worth it for the price it has, although the climb is pleasant.
