Dambulla Cave Temple

The Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple has achieved its UNESCO World Heritage Site designation: the underground monastery has been a treasured pilgrimage place for 22 centuries. This live Buddhist site is known as Sri Lanka’s largest and best-preserved cave temple complex. The mural paintings, which span a wide area of around 2,100m2, are particularly significant. The Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple sits at an important crossroads between continuing Buddhist traditions and pilgrimage practices that have been practiced for more than two millennia.