Colombo Trip Overview
Discover the rich history and cultural aspects, the famous heritage sites such as the Lion Rock and the Golden Cave Temple on this private day tour from Colombo or Negombo. Sigiriya is a “World Heritage Site” and the 5th Century “Fortress in the Sky” which is perhaps the most fantastic single wonder of the Island. It is also known as Lion Rock because of the huge lion that used to stand at the entrance to the Palace on the summit of the 600-foot high rock. On its summit are the foundations of the Royal Palace, Water Tanks to supply water and all other buildings and at the edges the guardhouses. Dambulla Cave Temples is a vast isolated rock mass 500 feet high and a mile around the base. Here is found the famous Rock Temple dating to the First Century B.C. The caves of Dambulla sheltered King Walagamba during his 14 years of exile from Anuradhapura. When he regained the throne he built the most magnificent of Rock Temples to be found in the Island.
Additional Info
Duration: 11 to 12 hours
Starts: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Colombo Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka
Discover the rich history and cultural aspects, the famous heritage sites such as the Lion Rock and the Golden Cave Temple on this private day tour from Colombo or Negombo. Sigiriya is a “World Heritage Site” and the 5th Century “Fortress in the Sky” which is perhaps the most fantastic single wonder of the Island. It is also known as Lion Rock because of the huge lion that used to stand at the entrance to the Palace on the summit of the 600-foot high rock. On its summit are the foundations of the Royal Palace, Water Tanks to supply water and all other buildings and at the edges the guardhouses. Dambulla Cave Temples is a vast isolated rock mass 500 feet high and a mile around the base. Here is found the famous Rock Temple dating to the First Century B.C. The caves of Dambulla sheltered King Walagamba during his 14 years of exile from Anuradhapura. When he regained the throne he built the most magnificent of Rock Temples to be found in the Island.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Sigiriya The Ancient Rock Fortress, Sigiriya 21120 Sri Lanka
Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982, Sigiriya is Asia’s best preserved city of the first millennium, showing complex urban planning around the base of the rock, combined with sophisticated engineering and irrigation skills in the palace perched on the summit. It is considered it to be one of the oldest tourist attractions in the world with visitors recording their impressions in some of the earliest-known graffiti. The most striking portion of Sigiriya, a terracotta and grey core of rock set in the cultural heart of Sri Lanka, rises a sheer 200 metres above a forested plain, its flattened summit sloping gently. A series of moats, ramparts and water gardens — remnants of an ancient city — spread out on two sides of the rock, with the remains of a pair of giant stone lion’s paws still guarding the staircase that leads to the summit, once occupied by a royal palace.
Duration: 3 hours
Stop At: Dambulla Cave Temple, Jaffna Hwy, Habarana 50150 Sri Lanka
This cave temple dates back to the Anuradhapura period, Circa 1st century BC. Dambulla cave temple is one of the most visited historical attractions on the island and is included in every trip that includes the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka. The temple was sheltering the King Walagambahu in the 1st century BC, during the troubled period, in which the King lost his throne, due to the South Indian invasions. Later, after regaining his throne, the king had developed the caves into a Buddhist temple complex. It was used as a monastery for many centuries and then neglected due to an undisclosed reason. It fell into oblivion; it was re-discovered by the British colonial rulers in 1800.
Duration: 1 hour
