Ulog 004. Temples and Nature in Sri Lanka, Let's go to Dambulla!

Hii Guys!!

As I already told, I am back in Asia and this time I decided to explore Sri Lanka because I heard nothing but good stories about this country and it isn't as crowded as for example Thailand with the tourist boom last years. I like countries with good sightseeing but still enough places to explore by myself like I found a lot in the Philippines.

The first spot I visited is Dambulla, a small city around 3 hours North of Colombo and Negombo. Just go to the bus stop and ask for the next bus to Dambulla is the easiest way. The hostel I stayed in in Dambulla is called BedBox, a clean cheap place for around $6 a day with a nice common room and a badminton place outside. I definitely recommend you to stay there if you are into hostels.

Dambulla itself isn't that interesting although there are nice spots near the town. If you are into hiking I can recommend you to visit Pidurangala or Sigirya rock. Those rocks are standing in opposite from each other .The nicer one is Sigirya, so it is in my opinion better to climb Pidurangala so you will have the view over Sigirya at the top. Another pro of doing this hike instead is the entrance fee. Pidurangala is only 500 LKR and Sigirya is 5000 LKR, so $3 or $30.. that's a big difference especially for a backpacker on a budget. If you have a bit of endurance and you don't mind about the money, do them both!

We decided to be at the top of Pidurangala for sunrise. The hike is just around 30 minutes so we had to leave around 4:30 in the morning. With our torches, breakfast and plenty of water packed, we left the hostel by tuk tuk for 2000 LKR one way, we went back home by bus but they don't drive that early in the morning. We started the hike in the dark but the path up was quite okay, although it was very steep and mostly stairs going up. Since the sun wasn't out yet, the temperature was still quite low and perfect for a hike and soon we reached already the top!

The path up to the mountain

A huge Buddha laying in a cave temple we passed by

The sun was already getting up when we found a nice spot to chill and eat our breakfast. There were some other people at the top but it looked like we were the only ones having a picknick up there while waiting for the sun. Sadly, the sunrise wasn't that nice but the view was still very good! It would have been perfect if it was a little bit less foggy, but next time more luck.

The rock you see in opposite of the one I am standing at is Sigirya

I really like the reflection of this pool

The rising sun although there isn't much color in the sky

An other great spot to explore are the Cave temples, right next to Dambulla town. Again, you'll have to hike up the mountain by stairs but this time a bit less far, around 15 minutes steep up. It is a good workout to stay in Sri Lanka and explore the country with all those hikes! When I went up the sun was fully out and I felt very hot and sweaty when I reached the top. The entrance fee is 1500 LKR, around $8 to enter the temple.

Lots of wildlife in this wonderful country

The view at the top of the mountain

The Temples are actually caves that's why they are called the Cave Temples. Inside the cave are big Buddha statues and smaller Buddhas like you can find in all Buddhist temples. The kingdom of Kandy added the paint in the 18th century, using natural colors like berries for this epic artworks. But the rest of the history of the temple goes way back in the days, to the first century BC they say. It are the best preserved cave temples in Sri Lanka!

• Again a big laying Buddha with paintings on the walls around him*

The colorful ceiling painting

From the outside it actually doesn't look much like a cave. Not so long ago, they have build the white entrance in front of the cave what let it look a bit more luxurious. It fits better by the idea in my mind of a temple with this looks, but it would have looked more unique if they would just have left it like a cave. It is not for nothing one of the oldest, best maintained cave temple in the world! It is even a world heritage site!

When you go down to the other side of the hill, you will bump into a gigantic buddha and an other temple! It seems like those Sinhalese (Sri Lankan people) can never have it big enough but it looks impressive, like Buddha is for most Sinhalese and other Buddhists.

If you look a bit better, you can see that the bees build their nest on Buddhas chin

Detail of the great details of the temple down the mountain

Hope I inspired you a bit with a new travel destination full of culture and nature. Sri Lanka will become crowded with tourists in the near future in my expectation so if you plan to go here, don't wait to long and book your tickets!

Regards,
Sha