Dambulla Sigiriya & Polonnaruwa Day Tour

More or less at the heart of the Cultural Triangle, the busy little town of DAMBULLAis famous for its remarkable cave temples: five magical, dimly lit grottoes crammed with statues and decorated with exquisite murals, offering picture-perfect skills of Sinhalese Buddhist art at its finest.

The great ruined capital of POLONNARUWA is one of the undisputed highlights of the Cultural Triangle — and indeed the whole island. The heyday of the city, in the twelfth century, represented one of the high watermarks of early Sri Lankan civilization. Chola invaders from South India had been repulsed by King Vijayabahu and the Sinhalese kingdom he established at Polonnaruwa enjoyed a brief century of magnificence under his successors Parakramabahu and Nissankamalla, who planned the city as a grand statement of imperial pomp.

Around 15km northeast of Dambulla, the spectacular citadel of SIGIRIYA rises sheer and impregnable out of the plains of the dry zone, sitting atop a huge outcrop of gneiss rock towering 200m above the surrounding countryside. shortest-lived but the most extraordinary of all Sri Lanka’s medieval capitals, Sigiriya (“Lion Rock”) was declared a World Heritage Site in 1982 and is the country’s most memorable single attraction — a remarkable archeological site made unforgettable by its dramatic setting.

Below is Dambulla Sigiriya Polonnaruwa Cultural triangle Day Tour Programme,

DAMBULLA SIGIRIYA AND POLONNARUWA DAY TOUR

Pick from Colombo @ 4.00 am

Drive for Dambulla (3 hrs drive)

Visit Dambulla caves temple (1 hr visit)

Visit Sigiriya rock fortress (2 ½ hrs visit)

Drive for Polonnaruwa and visit ancient city (1 ½ hr drive + 2 ½ hrs. visit)

Drive back to Colombo

Expected return time 10 pm