The Dambulla Cave Temple is Sri Lanka’s largest and best-preserved cave temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where five interconnected caverns shelter over 150 Buddha statues and 1,500 square metres of ceiling murals painted across more than two millennia of devotional art. The caves have been a place of worship since the 1st century BC, when King Vattagamani Abhaya sought refuge here and later commissioned the elaborate temple in gratitude for his safe return to power.