the viewing deck: Sri Lanka 1st part; from Colombo Airport directly to Dambulla

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Sri Lanka 1st part; from Colombo Airport directly to Dambulla

4-days quick solo trip in the island countries of Indian Ocean

February 25 to March 01, 2014

Sri Lanka Inroduction and Colombo Airport Arrival

Upon airport exit, I asked the local security how can I go to Colombo Fort. He pointed out to the main road then turn left and look for the waiting shed where the yellow bus is located. This bus is #187 that passed through the inner roads of Colombo. Bus driver wait for passengers to arrive until the bus is full and then starts to move. Colombo bus terminal is approximately 35km from airport. Travel time from Colombo Airport to Fort is around 2 hours including traffic jam and waiting time for passenger boarding. Fare is 200lkr. I left airport around 0500H, arriving in Colombo Bus Terminal (beside Colombo Fort) at 0700H. I asked the locals immediately how to go to Dambulla, they pointed me out to Bus Terminal 3.

How to go to Dambulla Cave Temple;

From Colombo Bus Terminal, proceed to Terminal#3 where the bus#15 is located bound to Anuhadhapura. Fare cost is just 190LKR for a 4 hour travel time. Departure timings is I think every hour interval. We left 0715H and arrived in Dambulla junction around 1120h. Then, I hired a tuktuk bound to the Temple for only 100lkr at 1.5km distance. Entrance fee costs 1,500lkr with separate charge for Golden Temple.

Dambulla Cave Temple

Dambulla Cave Temple (bus from Colombo Fort)

Dambulla Golden Temple

Dambulla cave temple also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1991) in Sri Lanka, situated in the central part of the country. It is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains.There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over 5 caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Lord Buddha and his life. There total of 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of Sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of gods and goddesses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dambulla_cave_temple