After the long hike up Sigiriya, and an hour spent savoring the summit and its panoramic views, we descended down the rock in a matter of minutes. The way down was fast and easy, because no one was stopping to see the sights and the route was much simpler. It's yet another interesting design aspect of the place: getting to the top is a bit torturous, along twisting routes and around blind corners, but getting down was prompt. The paranoid King Kashyapa set it up so that he could make a quick exit, if needed... Incidentally, here's another version of the history of Sigiriya worth checking out, entitled "Citadel City of the Playboy King"... I offer it up with the disclaimer that you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet, and that this version of history is disputed... But then, what version isn't?
After we finally made it back to the base of the rock, we got in our vehicle and were driven to the Cave Temple complex at Dambulla. This is yet another UNESCO World Heritage site, that has been used for meditation dating back to the 1st century BC. There are 5 large caves towards the top of a 160 meter high hill, which was surprisingly hard to climb. Those 1202 steps up Sigiriya caught up to us with a vengeance, and it took us longer than anticipated to laboriously climb the slope up to the caves. Once we were there, we surrendered our shoes at the door, and scampered across some very hot stones until we found ourselves packed into a tiny cave behind a 20-strong Russian tour group. There's nothing quite like seeing a profound space when you're crammed next to oblivious, uncomfortable tourists who are being herded along in a tight pack. Needless to say, the magic and wonder of the Dambulla caves was muted until we leapfrogged the tour group and had a chance to appreciate the splendor of this incredible site in a more private setting. A meditation cave is best appreciated in small numbers.
These caves were stunning, with each one seemingly more impressive than the last. The natural architecture had been embellished and decorated and the rooms were filled with religious statues and paintings, and you got the sense while you were in these spaces that the air was dense with the accumulated intentions and devotions of everyone who had ever spent time there over the course of the centuries. Although most of the paintings are fairly recent (19th century), the caves are still filled with antique Buddhas, Boddhisatva statues, and images from the Hindu epics. Everywhere you look, there's something potent to marvel at, in dim light and wreathed in shadows. The floors were cool on the soles of our feet, and we wandered from room to room taking in the overwhelming unlikeliness of it all. Huge stone statues fill these rooms. The effort and dedication it must have taken to bring these things here, and to paint every inch of available space is beyond admirable. This was yet another place that was hard to wrap our heads around.
I wish we'd come a different day, and had spent more time at Dambulla really appreciating the place. By the time we got to the top, we were a bit tired, a little hungry, and definitely almost overheated. It's tough to fully take in a place that's been a sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries when you're not mentally prepared to spend a lot of time there. I can't speak for Becky but I wasn't ready to really soak it all in. I was still high off of Sigiriya. The inner space and contemplative character of the Dambulla caves was a totally different proposition. Don't get me wrong: I loved visiting the caves, and they were incredibly inspiring, and will likely take a long time to really digest and process...but I wish we'd come on a different day, when we could have killed a few more hours at the summit. The views from the top of the hill were amazing, and the place had a really quiet resonance to it that I think we'll remember and carry with us for a long time. Perhaps someday we'll come back. There's a lot more to see in the cultural triangle that we missed this time around, which is a really good reason to make a second trip. Next time, maybe we'll have more time...
For more on the Dambulla Cave Complex, check out this UNESCO link, or their summary write up on Wikipedia.
After we finally made it back to the base of the rock, we got in our vehicle and were driven to the Cave Temple complex at Dambulla. This is yet another UNESCO World Heritage site, that has been used for meditation dating back to the 1st century BC. There are 5 large caves towards the top of a 160 meter high hill, which was surprisingly hard to climb. Those 1202 steps up Sigiriya caught up to us with a vengeance, and it took us longer than anticipated to laboriously climb the slope up to the caves. Once we were there, we surrendered our shoes at the door, and scampered across some very hot stones until we found ourselves packed into a tiny cave behind a 20-strong Russian tour group. There's nothing quite like seeing a profound space when you're crammed next to oblivious, uncomfortable tourists who are being herded along in a tight pack. Needless to say, the magic and wonder of the Dambulla caves was muted until we leapfrogged the tour group and had a chance to appreciate the splendor of this incredible site in a more private setting. A meditation cave is best appreciated in small numbers.
These caves were stunning, with each one seemingly more impressive than the last. The natural architecture had been embellished and decorated and the rooms were filled with religious statues and paintings, and you got the sense while you were in these spaces that the air was dense with the accumulated intentions and devotions of everyone who had ever spent time there over the course of the centuries. Although most of the paintings are fairly recent (19th century), the caves are still filled with antique Buddhas, Boddhisatva statues, and images from the Hindu epics. Everywhere you look, there's something potent to marvel at, in dim light and wreathed in shadows. The floors were cool on the soles of our feet, and we wandered from room to room taking in the overwhelming unlikeliness of it all. Huge stone statues fill these rooms. The effort and dedication it must have taken to bring these things here, and to paint every inch of available space is beyond admirable. This was yet another place that was hard to wrap our heads around.
I wish we'd come a different day, and had spent more time at Dambulla really appreciating the place. By the time we got to the top, we were a bit tired, a little hungry, and definitely almost overheated. It's tough to fully take in a place that's been a sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries when you're not mentally prepared to spend a lot of time there. I can't speak for Becky but I wasn't ready to really soak it all in. I was still high off of Sigiriya. The inner space and contemplative character of the Dambulla caves was a totally different proposition. Don't get me wrong: I loved visiting the caves, and they were incredibly inspiring, and will likely take a long time to really digest and process...but I wish we'd come on a different day, when we could have killed a few more hours at the summit. The views from the top of the hill were amazing, and the place had a really quiet resonance to it that I think we'll remember and carry with us for a long time. Perhaps someday we'll come back. There's a lot more to see in the cultural triangle that we missed this time around, which is a really good reason to make a second trip. Next time, maybe we'll have more time...
For more on the Dambulla Cave Complex, check out this UNESCO link, or their summary write up on Wikipedia.
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