The Cultural Triangle

Polonnaruwa Vatadage (built circa 1200AD)

After a whistle-stop stay in Colombo and a sad goodbye with Anna, we headed for the Sri Lankan Cultural Triangle with our newly extended visas! Kandy, Dambulla, Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa were the four corners of the ‘triangle’ that we visited, and despite the tourist prices we thought they were all well worth the visit.

In twenty four hours we saw enough Buddhas to last a lifetime. Accompanied by monkeys, we enjoyed the Dambulla cave temples at sunset, Sigiriya at sunrise, and a wonderful afternoon strolling around the ruins of the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.

Dambulla and the Cave Temples

Entrance to the Cave Temple

Inside the largest of five Cave Temples. Impressive paintings adorn the walls and ceiling

Flowers left by worshipping Buddhists

The view from the top

A shopkeeper's stall outside the temple

Sigiriya

Sigiriya (The Lion Rock)

Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa Vatadage

Monks among the ancient ruins

An ancient Buddhist stupa

Flowers left outside the stupa

Feeling culturally exhausted we headed north towards a well-deserved beach break in Trincomalee.