DAMBULLA CAVES IN THE CULTURAL TRIANGLE

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Day 13: KANDY - ALUVIHARA - DAMBULLA - PIDURANGALA - SIGIRIYA

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Today the alarm sounds a little earlier than these last days in Kandy and one of the reasons is that we can finally get to know the famous Dambulla Caves.
Today is a very special day in which we will begin to tour the famous Cultural Triangle in Sri Lanka.
So far all our knowledge about the Cultural Triangle have been the hundreds of data that we have collected from entries in travel blogs, tourism pages of Sri Lanka... And the many images that we have been seeing over the years, of many of the sites that we will visit throughout the 5 days that we will enjoy the rental car tour through the Cultural Triangle.
These images were one of the main reasons that made us consider a trip to Sri Lanka and Maldives... Aluvihara, Dambulla ... We are looking forward to entering this new area of Sri Lanka!!
Before going down to breakfast at our usual spectacular Skydale breakfast room, we have just closed our backpacks, today a little more filled by the purchases we have made these days in Kandy.

At 8 in the morning we met Chami, who will be our driver during our tour of the Cultural Triangle, but first we check out at the Skydale and we give the woman who has attended us during all these days the amount of the Accommodation plus a tip for treating us so well.
We see sideways that he tells several times and returns to the table to tell us that there is money left over. At the moment we tell her that it is for her, that it is for treating us so well and at the moment her teary eyes are put on and she gives us so many times the graces that make us get excited.
These little things are what, on trips, we will always take with us.
She asks us to take some pictures with her and after doing so, we say goodbye to her and the Skydale, our hotel in Kandy that has welcomed us so well during these days.
At 8 o'clock in the morning Chami is already at the door of the Skydale and at the moment when we finish loading the backpacks in the trunk, he tells us that before going to Aluvihara, he will take us to a point in the Kandy city, from where we will have stunning views of the city.
At the beginning we were a little surprised, because the day we closed the tour of the Cultural Triangle in Sri Lanka We commented that the itinerary was established by us and seeing that as soon as we start, we are already marked by the times, we are not very funny ...
But as you can not always be right and less on travel, we are wrong. After 10 minutes of touring the slopes of one of the mountains that surround Kandy, we arrive at a viewpoint from which we have stunning views, as Chami had promised us, of the city of Kandy !!

Stunning views of Kandy

What better way to say goodbye to the city that has welcomed us during these days ... Without a doubt, there is no better one !!
And after recreating a few minutes here, taking pictures, we get back in the car. This time with a destination already set. Now yes… now we go to the Cultural Triangle in Sri Lanka!!
When we have been traveling for 30 minutes, the sky changes from a blue to a dark gray in a matter of minutes and begins to unload a storm that makes us put our hands to our heads.
We ask Chami about the weather during these days and he tells us that at this time it is unpredictable, but that we have been very lucky, because until recently, it rained daily.
After hearing it, we only have to look at the sky and wait for time to continue giving us a truce in this trip to Sri Lanka and Maldives.
The road that takes us to Aluvihara continues ascending during almost the whole journey, something that inevitably reminds us of the days we spent in the Highlands.
Once we reach Matale's height, the sun begins to appear timidly and that already makes us smile again, thinking that in the end time will return to be kind to us and let us see the Buddha of Aluvihara with sun.
The journeys in this part of the taxi ride through the Cultural Triangle are very bearable because the distances are quite short, yes, to do it by public transport, we have to count on buses in Sri Lanka They are not the most punctual in the world and do not lead directly to the most visited sites, so you have to change trains.
In our case and counting that we have the most fair days, we have preferred to choose the option of car with driver through the Cultural Triangle, which for what we are seeing has been a success!
We arrived in Aluvihara and after leaving the car in the parking lot, we climbed the first stairs and took off our shoes again ... we felt again Sri Lanka!
And we intuit that in this part of the trip to Sri Lanka and Maldives There will be few times we do it.
We pay the 250 rupees per person that costs the entrance and we go back up some stairs that take us directly to the dagoba, from where we have stunning views.
Aluvihara consists of a series of caves already inhabited by monks in the 19th century, when Pali Canon, a series of Buddhist texts arrived by oral tradition from the north of India, were shaped on palm leaves.

Aluvihara Temple

After spending a good time here, enjoying the loneliness of the early morning to see tourist sites, we go back down and go straight to the caves that are at the bottom, where we are impressed not only with the Buddha images, but also with the paintings in the rock, especially on the ceilings.
The first cave houses an image of reclining Buddha, ten meters long.

Details of the first cave of Aluvihara

Aluvihara Temple

We have only seen this guy in Sri Lanka And we really love it.
We do not get tired of seeing this type of temples as soon as we enter, they cause us some difficult sensations to explain, but that we take with us as the best memories of the trip.

Enjoying the Aluvihara Temple

We are more than 45 minutes in the Aluvihara Buddha enclosure and we return to the parking lot, where Chami awaits us, to take us directly to Nalanda Gegide, which will be the next stop today.
On the way Chami is explaining many things about the places we are going through and several times he tells us that if we want to visit temples or gardens of the cities we go through, we just have to let him know and that he will stop as many times as they are necessary.
After 10.30 in the morning we arrive at Nalanda Gegide, an unusual stop on the tourist routes, but from which we have read good comments and that being very close to the route we have to do the Dambulla Caves, we have preferred not to ignore and take advantage to know another place in Sri Lanka.
As we have said before, the distances are short and the roads are quite good, so the journeys are made in very good weather and it is worthwhile to deviate a little from the tourist route of the Sri Lankan cultural triangle.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Sri Lanka
- 10 essential places to visit in Sri Lanka
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Sri Lanka

Admission is free in Nalanda Gegide, although the guides indicate that it costs Rs 500 or we may not be charged 😉
Nalanda preserves the remains of a gegide, which is a hollow Buddhist temple inside and protected by thick, stone walls dating from the thirteenth and eleventh centuries.
At the entrance we stop a few minutes in a mini museum that is there and that shows us a small preview of what we will see later.
As soon as we begin to walk the path that leads to the enclosure, we find a place in the middle of the vegetation, very clean, crossed by a path that leads to the temple and to a stupa.

Nalanda Gegide

Nalanda Gegide Surroundings

As soon as we reach the area where the vegetation opens to make way for the temple, we look at each other thinking that the two have an impressive resemblance to Sahastrabahu Temple, in Gwalior or with some temples we saw in Indonesia ...

Nalanda Gegide

Nalanda Gegide is one of the oldest stone buildings in Sri Lanka and its architectural style is unique throughout the island.
The visit of the entire Nalanda Gegide enclosure does not take us more than 45 minutes and we totally recommend it, since as we said before, it leaves the tourist circuits and you do not have to deviate much from the road that leads to the Dambulla Caves.

Nalanda Gegide

Interior of the Gegide. Nalanda Gegide

Some of the lintels show the very deteriorated remains of images of tantric sex.

Nalanda Gegide details

Nalanda Gegide Enclosure

Again in the car and chatting about this visit, we set a direct path to Dambulla.
Time is improving at times and that brings us back, as this morning, the best of our smiles.
The time in Sri Lanka It is unpredictable and more at this time, in the middle of the monsoon, but we can say with a big mouth, that we are enjoying a great time !!
We arrived to Dambulla Shortly after 12 in the morning and before getting out of the car, we noticed a strange sensation in the stomach. That we usually have when we know that we will be able to see, finally, something we had in mind for a long time.
We will not deny that Dambulla Caves They have been on our "list of traveling dreams" for a long time.
Dambulla is one of the main landmarks on a tour of the Ancient Cities of Sri Lanka.
The Royal Rock Temple of Dambulla or group of Buddhist caves of Dambulla, are the largest group of religious caves and the best preserved of Sri Lanka and are included in the World Heritage list.
It is believed that Dambulla Caves They were already inhabited in the 17th century BC, but most of the Buddhist paintings and images inside date from the 1st century of our Era and have undergone several restorations.
Something to keep in mind is that the entrance tickets must be taken at the entrance part of the enclosure of Dambulla, not at the top.
We have read that more than one has to go back down all the stairs because I thought that the tickets are taken in the part of the caves.
** Update 2017: Thanks to a reader we know that as of 2017, access to the Dambulla Caves is free. Thanks a lot Jackie!
** Update 2018: Ismael tells us that you have to buy tickets again (1500 rupees) to enter Dambulla and that they ask for it on the stairs. Thank you very much Ishmael!

It is not too well indicated, so do not forget this if you do not want to double "gym day".
We pay 1500 rupees per person and before starting to climb stairs, we take the opportunity to go to the bathroom. It is the first time that we find a dirty bathroom in Sri Lanka and the truth is that in a place as touristy as this and that they make us pay 10 rupees to use it, it attracts our attention and gives us to think that in most of the occasions, when we find something dirty, it is in the places where we are more tourists and on many occasions "we are the worst" ...
Before reaching the stairs that will take us to the Dambulla Caves We pass in front of the famous golden Buddha and museum of Buddhism that “they have placed” at the entrance and that, why not say it, quite clash with the rest of the landscape.

Golden Buddha of the Dambulla Caves

Dambulla Cave Buddhism Museum

The stairs, how could it be otherwise, are more than I would have liked, but seen what I saw, I only have one thing clear, I have to climb them anyway. It is not that they are exhausting, but as I said before, they are more than I would have liked.

We begin the ascent to the Dambulla Caves

Views while climbing the Dambulla Caves

So we take it easy and we rest from time to time, drinking water, stopping from time to time ... remember that there is no place in the Dambulla Caves where to buy, so you have to take with you before starting to ascend.

And we keep going up !!! Dambulla Caves

Buddhist temples in the caves are in the rock of a mountain 160 meters high.
The five caves are under a cliff and contain a total of about 150 Buddha statues.
On the way we cross several stores that take advantage of the site to sell their souvenirs at somewhat exorbitant prices with the firm conviction that tourists, whether we are nationality, we are tired or busted ... we will always haggle!
In the end, as always in these cases, the effort has its reward and we reach the end of the stairs, from where we have incredible views of Sigiriya in the distance.

Views of Sigiriya in the distance and Pidurangala in front, while we climb to the Dambulla Caves

On the way up, several times the local people, by signs, have reminded us if we have the tickets, because if not, as we have said before, we have to go back down to buy them.
Just before entering the Dambulla Caves proper, we find a school that we try to advance and after passing the security check and show our tickets we arrive at the entrance of the first cave.

Entrance to the Dambulla Caves

As soon as we enter, we can already say that in this part of the newspaper, it is difficult to explain with words everything we see and surely, not even images can convey what we saw and felt.
But we will try ...

Dambulla Caves

Cave 1 or Devaraja Viharaya shelters a reclining Buddha statue fifteen meters long with small images of his disciples around.

Entrance to Devaraja Viharaya

Details of Devaraja Viharaya

Devaraja Viharaya

After "the first main course" which has been the first Dambulla Cave We continue to the second cave, which is the most impressive and the most images we had seen planning this trip.

Entrance to Maharaja Viharaya

Cave 2 or Maharaja Viharaya or the Great King is the largest and the most spooky. It measures 52 meters in length and 23 in width and inside, among the dozens of Buddha statues there are two Sinhalese monarchs: that of Valagamba himself and Nissanka Malla.

Roof details of Maharaja Viharaya

Maharaja Viharaya

This cave, with a maximum height of 7 meters, also contains images of the Hindu pantheon.

Maharaja Viharaya

Towards the center of the cave, a vessel collects drops of filtered water from the outside that is used for religious rituals.

Vessel that collects filtered water for religious rituals. Maharaja Viharaya

Amazing Maharaja Viharaya

The atmosphere inside in very difficult to explain with words and as there are very few people much more is enjoyed.

Details of the interior of Maharaja Viharaya

Interior of Maharaja Viharaya

This is one of the things we always explain that is essential for us. Get up early, to get to the most tourist sites and see them more calmly and if possible with the least influx of people possible.
When it is impossible to get up early on the itinerary, we try to adjust the visit late in the afternoon, which is also one of the hours with fewer people.
In this cave, although there are not many people, we do cross several local tourists, so we take the visit with all the calm and we are waiting to be alone to go touring the cave without losing any detail.
It is a wonder. Awesome!

Maharaja Viharaya

>"Awesome Maharaja Viharaya

After a good while in the second cave of Dambulla and seeing that time passes too quickly for our liking, we move on to the third cave.
The third Cave or Maha Alut Viharaya contains familiar statues of Siddarta Gautama Buddha, one of which shows the Master in a reclined position, leaving the body at the end of his life.

Maha Alut Viharaya

Details of Maha Alut Viharaya

Maha Alut Viharaya

We continue to see the rest of the 2 caves that are open to the public and we are still surprised.
Cave IV or Pachima Viharaya is small and contains a seated Buddha, along with other images.
Cave V or Devana Alut Viharaya, is the last cave and the one located to the west. This was an ancient warehouse of the monks and apart from the Buddha statues you can also see images of Vishnu.
When it is almost 2 noon we say that it is time to start descending, although before, we go backwards, why can't we avoid wanting to go back to the impressive Dambulla Cave.

Dambulla Caves

When we have entered the second Dambulla Cave, we have seen a girl who was praying and as she passed by, we made a nod and she smiled at us.
Since we entered the "most tourist" part of the country, we stopped noticing those spontaneous smiles that had accompanied us so much in the first part of the trip and find one, here in Dambulla We were excited at that time.
When we are about to leave, the girl approaches us and starts talking to us explaining that she is starting to study English and would like to practice a little with us, because we have smiled at her before and she has perceived that we are “good people”.
These kinds of things are what make this country such a special place.
After a good time talking, he tells us that he has no email, no computer, but he asks us to give him our address to send us a letter and thus practice his English with us.
Although at first we don't think he will, we ask his to send him a postcard and the photos Roger has taken while we were talking.

Conversing with Wasanthi ...

Address exchange with Wasanthi

Without explaining anything else, we can say that Wasanthi is "our person in Dambulla".
After a week of arriving home, we found in the mailbox an envelope with our name ... and his as sender ... he had written us a five-page letter, explaining many things about his life.
Some of the words he dedicated to us have made us excited and continue to do so every time we receive one of his letters.
Today, after a few months of our arrival, we have already exchanged several letters with her and we can say that of Sri Lanka and especially of the Dambulla Caves we brought more than a wonderful place, we brought a friend.
Wasanthi has come as a surprise to us, like "our tuk tuk man" who led us to see Tamil women picking tea in Nuwara Eliya.

A great memory of the Dambulla Caves ...

"Our" Wasanthi

After saying goodbye to Wasanthi, and before we leave, we take some more photos ... It's hard for us to say goodbye to this place!

Dambulla Caves

We descend the stairs, this time much faster than before and when we meet Chami, he tells us that near our hotel in Sigiriya there is a very nice temple to see and that we will like it very much.
We ask for more explanations, but we notice him reluctant to tell us anything else and although with a mosquito behind his ear, we give him the vote of confidence and tell him to take us after lunch and before arriving at the hotel.
Not knowing anything in the area to eat, we stopped at a restaurant, next to the Dambulla Caves And how could it be otherwise, it is very touristy, so it didn't take us long to refuse the buffet and we ordered a fried rice and some spaghetti with water for 1419 rupees.
We look at the clock and it is 4 in the afternoon, so we leave and set off for the “famous temple near our hotel in Sigiriya.
On the way we managed to get the name of Chami and he tells us that it is Pidurangala. We had never heard it until today.
We arrive in Pidurangala in about 20 minutes and we are surprised that Chami when getting out of the car asks us if we carry water because it will be a hard road. He adds that he will accompany us ...
We think that as we have asked him several times about the effort to be made in Sigiriya, he is staying with us and is a joke.
We arrive at the entrance and pay 200 rupees per person. Chami accompanies us and adds an "older man" to the expedition.

Pidurangala

The first stop we make is in some impressive caves, which remind us of the views a few hours ago in Dambulla.

Pidurangala Cave

At this moment we think again that he has teased us about the hard road, but this thought is short-lived, because when we leave the temple, he tells us that we have to reach the end of the rock we see on our heads ... we don't we can believe it! This is a joke!!
After a few minutes doubting whether to go up or not and listening to him insist again and again, we decided to go up.
The first section is of stone stairs, which are increasingly steeper and narrower, until at the end after about 20 minutes of ascent, we reach some caves where 500 monks lived at the same time as in Sigiriya.
I do not know how many liters of water I will have drunk, but at the moment it is one of those in which I think "I do not know what I am doing here ???".

Pidurangala

In this part of Pidurangala, we also find the statue of an impressive Buddha.

Buddha of Pidurangala

Right next to the Buddha statue there is a small pond full of water, which they tell us has never been emptied and they don't know where it comes from.

Pond in Pidurangala

The views from here are spectacular and after resting and thinking that it was here that they wanted to bring us and thank them because it really is an impressive place, they explain that no ... that now is when the hard road really begins.
Now we don't think this is a joke anymore and I look at Roger hoping he says we don't continue ... but that's impossible. I know perfectly well that Roger will continue and I have to wait there or continue with them.
I don't know who pushed me at that moment, but I followed them ... and despite my attempt to crack myself more than 100 times Chami and the older man, who goes barefoot, do nothing but cheer me up and tell me it's worth the effort!
But as much as I ask what's up, they still don't tell me.
In the end Roger ends up carrying my bag, my camera ... and why can't he with me, that if I don't think that if he didn't listen to me, he would have taken me for a horse!
But please, if we go with sandals and they are making me climb rocks! Seriously, there are sections where I go up some places that I would have thought I would never have done.
Now I understand why he didn't tell me that we had to climb to the top when we were down !!
In one of the moments when I get stuck in a rock for which I already say that it is impossible to climb, Roger comes forward and just by looking at his face with what he is seeing at the top ... I know I have to get around like Be that piece of rock and get there.
But it is impossible, no matter how hard I try and no matter how much I encourage Chami and Roger from above I don't get it.
Suddenly the older man appears next to me and without knowing or how he does it, he gives me a push and makes me see myself at the top of the rock, taking a leap that only a few seconds ago I would have thought was impossible because of the vertigo that I have.
Now I understand that smile from Roger. Now I understand why Chami has been saying all the way worthwhile. Now I understand why the older man said that this place was very little known.
There are no words for what I am seeing.
I'm right in front ... I have the best views of Sigiriya I could have dreamed of!

Sigiriya views from Pidurangala

Sigiriya from Pidurangala

Undoubtedly it has been worth the fatigue and vertigo that I have gone through to get here.

Pidurangala

I can only thank Chami and the older man who has been helping me to pass and climb the rocks once and a hundred times.

Enjoying Pidurangala

Roger in Pidurangala

Roger enjoying the views of Sigiriya from Pidurangala

We are here for more than an hour enjoying the best views of Sigiriya and the place when we see that the time has come for the descent, but before, as always ... we cannot avoid returning our sight to the place that has enchanted us.

Pidurangala

Without a doubt, where you least expect it, the most beautiful thing in the world appears.

Sigiriya from Pidurangala

Dambulla and then Pidurangala ... today we can not ask for more daily!
The descent is not as tired as the climb, but there are sections in which they have to help me again and in which I think I do not understand how I have been able to climb them before.
We arrive at the entrance of Pidurangala and after giving a tip to the man who has helped me so much and thanking him infinitely, we go to our hotel in Sigiriya, the Sigiriya Hideout.

Ascent and descent to Pidurangala achieved !!!!

As soon as we arrive and leave the car, we check-in at the Sigiriya Hideout and see that we have been right in choosing this hotel
After a day like today, this is a great reward!

Our room at the Sigiriya Hideout

Before we go to rest for a few minutes in the room, we meet Chami for tomorrow, which will be another key day in the tour of the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka and it will be the day we meet, this time in person and not from afar, Sigiriya.
We take advantage of the rest of the afternoon having a drink on the Hideout terrace, enjoying the tranquility and friendliness of the staff that treat us like at home.

Enjoying the terrace of the Sigoutiya Hideout

Before dinner, we connect for a while, to send some emails and catch up a little with the family.
At 9 p.m. dinner is served on the terrace and the owners and chef accompany us, to explain what each thing is and how they cook it.
This is a luxury!
We have a lot of food in front of us that we enjoy as dwarves.

Sigiriya Hideout Dinner

Before we go to rest in our room, we end up chatting with a good tea with the staff who tell us anecdotes of the hotel, Sigiriya ... until we return to rest in our room, but this time for a few hours.
Tomorrow Sigiriya, another of the main dishes of the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka.
As dawn arrives ... we will continue to dream in our room at the Sigiriya Hideout.