Also known as the Royal Rock Temples, the Dambulla Cave Temples are a small network of five Buddhist Temples on a hill, roughly 525 feet (160 meters) above the town and plains below. The temples were hand-built into the caves sometime in the first century B.C – that’s a long time ago! If you’re thinking about adding the Dambulla Cave Temples/Royal Rock Temples to your Sri Lanka itinerary, here is everything you need to know before visiting – as well as my thoughts on the Dambulla Cave Temples!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links where I might earn a small commission at no cost to you. This keeps my website up and running! This is not a sponsored post.

How to get to the Dambulla Cave Temples

What I did:
I was staying in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I was in Sri Lanka tagging along on a quick business trip with my husband. I wanted to make the most of my short time in Sri Lanka, so I hired a driver to take me here (as well as Sigiriya Rock on the same trip). It was a long day in the car, that started at 5am(!), returning me to the hotel at 5pm, so it was a very long day in the car. In other words, it’s do-able as a day trip from Colombo, but be prepared for a very long day!

I stayed at the Movenpick Colombo, which was an awesome place to stay. Check current rates and availability here for the Movenpick. Or check all hotels in Colombo here.

Read more: One Amazing Day in Colombo, Sri Lanka!

If you have the option (so if you’re staying in nearby Sigiriya or Dambulla or on a private tour), I highly suggest that you visit Sigiriya Rock (aka Lion Rock) first. Afternoon thunderstorms are very, very common in this area, so if you want to climb the rock, you need to do this before the storms roll in or before the crowds show up (they limit the number of people up at the top, so you may have to wait a while). Like I mentioned above, I did this on a tour with a few other people, and we were brought to the Dambulla Cave Temples first. Then the storms rolled in and we couldn’t go to the top of Sigiriya. But I didn’t know this tip at the time – now you do! 🙂

Dress Code in the Dambulla Cave Temples

As with most temples in Asia, modest dress is required. No shorts are allowed (includes men!) and you must cover your shoulders. I wore loose fitting pants and a t-shirt and I was fine.

Arriving at the Dambulla Cave Temples:

First off, you should know that there are two paths to the cave temples: one through the museum (where the large golden Buddha statue is) and…the other one.

You want the “other” one. If you try to enter via the museum, you’ll be turned around at the top as there is no ticket booth along this path. So you’ll have to go back down the stairs, and go up the other entrance.

If you are arriving here with a car or tuk tuk driver, he will almost certainly bring you to the correct entrance, so you won’t have to worry. If you do arrive at the wrong entrance (which, again, is the one with the giant golden buddha) you’re in the wrong spot. From the museum entrance, go around to the left and up the hill. You’ll also see signs directing you to this but if you get confused, just ask around and someone will direct you to the correct spot.

How much does it cost to see the Dambulla Cave Temples?

You’ll pay 1500 LRK (roughly $10 USD) to visit the temples. You’ll pay at the ticket booth, which is located up a flight of stairs from the parking lot. You must have cash!

What are the hours of the Dambulla Cave Temple?

The Dambulla Cave Temples are open from 7am – 7pm each day, but the ticket booth stops selling tickets at 5pm.

Visiting the Dambulla Cave Temples

After purchasing your ticket, you’re in for a lot of stair climbing – 370 steps, to be exact, so unfortunately this is not for anyone who has mobility issues/can’t use steps. It will take you about 10-15 minutes to climb the stairs to the top where the cave temples are. Make sure to take in all the views as you’re climbing up the stairs – it’s beautiful!

As with all Buddhist sites, you will need to remove your shoes to visit the temple. There is a storage area to hold your shoes for a small fee. You cannot put your shoes in a bag and take them with you in the temple.

You are allowed to wear socks in the temple (some temples in Asia are barefoot-only), so you might want to pack a pair to protect your feet. I didn’t, and I thought the ground was very hot!

Inside the temples, you’ll find amazing carvings of buddha and intricate paintings of buddha on the walls and ceilings of the temples. There are five different temples here, but they’re pretty small. Keep in mind that these temples are extremely old – first century BC! It’s hard to wrap your mind around that!

Additionally, this isn’t a temple just frequented by tourists; Sri Lankans do use this temple for prayer, so you may see some locals paying respects.

Monkeys are everywhere at the temple – both on the way up on the steps and at the top. While they’re pretty cute – and a total novelty for those of us who don’t have wild monkeys at home – they can be pretty aggressive here, so be vigilant if you are going to have a snack. – one might steal it from you.

How long do you need to visit the Dambulla Cave Temples?

All in all, I think I spent about an hour here, and that includes the time it takes to hike up and down to the temples. I thought that was plenty of time. I didn’t bother with the museum – it just didn’t appeal to me. After we finished, we met our driver back own at the base of the stairs in the parking lot and we were on our way to Sigiriya.

Where to stay when visiting the Dambulla Cave Temples

As I mentioned earlier, I stayed in Colombo and did a day trip here, but if you have the option, I would definitely stay in either Dambulla or Sigiriya. If I was doing this again, I would chose to stay in Sigiriya, as there are more options for hotels.

Check current prices and hotel availability here in Sigiriya. Or check current prices and hotel availability here for Dambulla.

Dambulla Cave Temples – Final Thoughts

While I enjoyed my time here, this isn’t a place I’d go back and see again. It was good to see (I’m sucker for UNESCO sites!) and it was really interesting to know that all of these intricate carvings were done by hand. I really liked the views, both from the stairs and from the top. I could see this being an amazing place for sunset!