Dambulla cave temple (Sinhalese: Dam̆būlū Len Vihāraya, Tamil Tampuḷḷai Poṟkōvil) also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla is a World Heritage Site (1991) in Sri Lanka, situated in the central part of the country. This site is situated 148 kilometres (92 mi) east of Colombo , 72 kilometres (45 mi) north of Kandy and 43 km (27 mi) north of Matale. Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains. There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Gautama Buddha and his life. There are a total of 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of gods and goddesses. The latter include Vishnu and the Ganesha. The murals cover an area of 2,100 square metres (23,000 sq ft). Depictions on the walls of the caves include the temptation by the demon Mara, and Buddha's first sermon. Prehistoric Sri Lankans would have lived in these cave complexes before the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka as there are burial sites with human skeletons about 2700 years old in this area, at Ibbankatuwa near the Dambulla cave complexes.

Sigiriya, or Lion Rock, is a gigantic rock (200 meters high) located in the middle of the jungle. Sigiriya was once the capital of Sri Lanka, where the king`s palace was on top of the rock. You can actually see ruins of the palace at the top. Sigiriya was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. All the natural cave shelters and rock overhangs throughout the rock were inhabited in prehistoric times. A myth says that King Kassapa (AD 477-495) chose Sigiriya to be the capital of Sri Lanka, and built a garden and an unassailable palace on top of the rock, after killing his father King Dhatusena. The capital and the royal palace were abandoned after the king’s death, and were used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. Surrounding the Lion Rock is the beautiful royal gardens, including water gardens, boulder gardens and terraced gardens. It`s a lovely place to sit and listen to the songs of birds and gentle gurgle of water.