A UNESCO World Heritage cave monastery complex dating back over 2,000 years, featuring five caves packed with Buddhist statues and ceiling murals that cover an area of over 2,100 square metres. The adjoining Golden Temple, with its giant seated Buddha statue, marks the base of the hill and makes this one of the best-preserved cave temple complexes in Sri Lanka. It sits below the headline sights but earns its place on a longer visit to Sigiriya.
What It Is
Visitors climb a stone stairway up the rock face, remove footwear, and enter cool, dim caves filled with reclining and seated Buddha statues surrounded by vividly painted ceilings and walls depicting the life of Buddha.
Why Visit
One of the most significant and best-preserved Buddhist cave temple sites in Asia, offering a powerful combination of art, history and religious devotion. It is not the first thing you should see in Sigiriya, but with two or more days it fills a gap the major sights leave. Mornings are quieter if you want to take your time.
More on Sigiriya
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