Field tour 1: (North Central part of Sri Lanka)
Colombo – Dambulla – Sigiriya – Colombo
Departure time: 6.30am (from Galle Face hotel)
Lunch & refreshments: Provided
Expected arrival time: 8.00 pm
Dambulla
Located north of Kandy, Dambulla is a town built around a vast isolated rock mass 500 ft and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.It was here that King Valagambahu took refuge in the 1st century B.C. The view from the top of this rock is breathtaking 350 ft. above are a series of five caves which was later turned into a magnificent rock temple by King Valagambahu.
Cave Temple of Dambulla
Sigiriya
The history of Sigiriya dates back to over 5000 years, to the Mesolithic period. One of Sri Lanka’s major attractions and a World Heritage Site, Sigiriya (Lion Rock) came into prominence in the 5th centaury AD, when the patricidal King Kasyapa, scared of reprisals led by his half-brother, Mogolan, chose to move the seat of power from Anuradhapura to this 500m rock. It was Kasyapa and his master-builders who were responsible for the complex plan which made Sigiriya the glorious capital it was, for 17 years (477 – 495 AD).
Sigirya - The Rock Kingdom
The frescoes of the ‘heavenly maidens‘ halfway up the rock in a sheltered gallery, are the only painted renderings of a secular subject in this country. The ‘mirror wall‘, which records the poetic outpourings of early visitors to the rock, and the colossal plan of the royal palace, water gardens and fortifications, are entirely fascinating.
Sigiriya Frescoes
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