Sigiriya & Dambulla Heritage Day

Climb the Lion Rock fortress and explore the painted cave temples of Dambulla.

What the Sigiriya & Dambulla Heritage Day is really like.

The cultural triangle holds two of Sri Lanka's greatest sights within easy reach of each other. Sigiriya is a fifth-century royal citadel built atop a sheer granite rock, reached past mirror walls and ancient frescoes and crowned by the ruins of a sky palace. Dambulla's golden cave temple shelters five caverns of Buddha statues and ceiling paintings spanning two millennia. A heritage day pairs the climb with the caves, best started early to beat the heat and the crowds.

At a glance

Best season: Year-round (clearest May – September)
Typical duration: Full day
Regions: 2

Moment by moment

How the day unfolds.

Step 01
Early start at the rock
Reach Sigiriya's gardens at opening time, when the air is cool and the granite glows in the low sun.
Step 02
Frescoes and mirror wall
Climb past the famous cloud-maiden frescoes and the polished mirror wall scratched with ancient verse.
Step 03
The lion's paws to the top
Pass the giant carved lion paws and climb the final stairs to the ruins of the summit sky palace.
Step 04
Dambulla cave temple
Drive to Dambulla and step into five caves crowded with Buddha statues beneath painted ceilings.
Step 05
Two thousand years of art
Trace ceiling murals and statues spanning two millennia, the finest cave-temple art in the country.