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Dambulla is a part of the Cultural Triangle
declared by UNESCO is on the main road
from Sigiriya to Kandy about 19Km from
Sigiriya. There are over 80 caves in
the surrounding and some of them have
been used by the monks as meditation
locations. Major attractions are spread
over 5 caves, which contain the statues
and the paintings. Since it's founding
in the 1 century BC by King Valagamba,
many improvements and additions have
been carried out to the sculptures and
paintings over the years. Hindu statues
are believed to be of the 12 century
AD and the latest paintings are of the
late 18-century. The temple is a perfect
location to view evolution of the ancient
Sri Lankan arts. Dambulla is a unique
and important historical site because
of the amalgamation of the material
from many eras. |
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Iron Wood Forest (Namal Uyana) and Rose Quarts
Mountain. |
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Close to Dambulla deep inside the jungle is perhaps
the oldest garden in Sri Lanka is the Iron Wood
Forest and the largest Rose Quartz Mountain Range
in South Asia. The site had been declared as a human
sanctuary by King Dappula in 10 century AD as shown
in an inscription at the entrance to Namal Uyana.
Trees believed to have been planted by those who
sought sanctuary here and subsequently turned in
to a vast plantation of Iron wood forest.
Apart from the biodiversity of the site as it
contains many other plants, it is also geologically
important because of the Rose Quartz mountain
range in the garden, which is believed to be over
500 million years old. White, rose and violet
colour quartz deposits can be seen here. |
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Distance to other towns in Km
| Colombo |
148 |
| Kandy |
72 |
| Anuradhapura |
66 |
| Sigiriya |
12 |
| Polonnaruwa |
68 |
| Trincomalee |
109 |
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